


Take a Chance on the Dice

by SinfulFlame



Series: Dice and Roses [1]
Category: Cuphead (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, I hope you like it, My First Work in This Fandom, What Was I Thinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-06-29 20:38:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19838086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SinfulFlame/pseuds/SinfulFlame
Summary: When you lose nearly everything, what are you willing to give to get it all back? Would you be willing to give up not only your soul but your very memories to get back you true love, even if he doesn't remember who you are? This is the very thing that Rosemary Thorn has agreed to offer the Devil so that she can regain her lover King Dice. With no memories of his past and his walls built so high, will Rose be able to remind him of who she is and the love they once shared before she herself is forced into the Devil's service and her own memories stripped away from her?





	1. Why don't you do Right?

**Author's Note:**

> Well guys this is a scary feeling writing again and for a whole new fandom, I have to say though I am very excited for how this is going to turn out. Mind you it has been a long time since I felt this strongly about a story, and even longer since I wanted to share my works with others. I hope you all enjoy it and it doesn't get lost along the way like some of my others works that I've done in the past. Well guess there is no turning back now, I hope you guys enjoyed the story so far, I plan on have the others chapters posted before the end of the week so until then!
> 
> I'd also like to give a shout out to X-01-King for letting me use his OC Jack and also to brightgoat for making some very inspiring pieces of art work that really got the gears turning in my head. Both of these guys are on Tumblr and you should go and check them out! Also a Shout out to Shavs Media Productions on Youtube who did a Comic dub of brightgoats work and making me laugh every time I watched their videos.
> 
> I do not own the following.  
> Cuphead  
> Jack (Belongs to x-01-king tumblr)  
> Song:Why Don't you do Right by: Peggy Lee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guys this is a scary feeling writing again and for a whole new fandom, I have to say though I am very excited for how this is going to turn out. Mind you it has been a long time since I felt this strongly about a story, and even longer since I wanted to share my works with others. I hope you all enjoy it and it doesn't get lost along the way like some of my others works that I've done in the past. Well guess there is no turning back now, I hope you guys enjoyed the story so far, I plan on have the others chapters posted before the end of the week so until then!
> 
> I'd also like to give a shout out to X-01-King for letting me use his OC Jack and also to brightgoat for making some very inspiring pieces of art work that really got the gears turning in my head. Both of these guys are on Tumblr and you should go and check them out! Also a Shout out to Shavs Media Productions on Youtube who did a Comic dub of brightgoats work and making me laugh every time I watched their videos.
> 
> I do not own the following.  
> Cuphead  
> Jack (Belongs to x-01-king tumblr)  
> Song:Why Don't you do Right by: Peggy Lee

The Devil’s casino, the most popular place in Inkwell isle, it could also be the most dangerous. A place where losing your money wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to you. Even after the cup brothers defeated the devil and freed everyone from their contracts the casino was able to rebuild and thrive if not even more so now that there was no more fear in being dragged down to hell, so long as they didn’t try and out cheat the Devil himself again.  
It was able to once again become a place where others could gather there and let off steam, or drink their problems away, along with the casino reopening there were even special events that were held there from time to time. Like talent shows and open mic nights, something that could pull in a few more people to the table thought it seemed to only make the bar more successful as mostly the people who came only wanted to drink and enjoy the shows that others would put on.

The manager of the casino merely rolled his eyes as he shuffled the cards that were in front of him for the few patrons that came to try and earn their fortune, though none of them ever came close, as none of them ever knew when to quit. He had to admit though it did bring in extra business and the events were enjoyable to an extent, whatever kept the people coming and spending their money was all that mattered in the end. To be fair it was Cuphead’s idea that he pitched to the Devil on a whim, everyone was surprised that he agreed. Though during these little event put him behind on soul contracts, not by much mind you, but he never liked behind on his work. It pulled a lot of people away from the tables, customers and staff a like as they all wanted to see if there was any good talent or if they were all just a bunch of chumps wanting to bask in the light for a few minutes. There was some good ones that could actually sing or do something of relative interest, but it was mostly the first answer.

Sighing and mentally shrugging his shoulders dice passed out the cards to the men in front of him as they were starting to become impatient with him. He would just have to ask Jack if he could kick a few contracts his way knowing him had a few to spare, not that he liked going to him for help but he’d rather deal with his teasing then be at the mercy of the Devil, and mercy was not something his boss knew the meaning of. The sound of someone clearing their throat into the mice pulled Dice’s attention towards the stage as the two cup brothers stood on stage gathering everyone’s attention to them now.

“We’d like to thank everyone who was able to make it out here tonight.” Cuphead spoke into the mic. “It’s always nice to see familiar faces in the crowd as well as a few new ones to boot.” he continued receiving a few claps from the patriots Dice managed a small smile as he saw that the two were wearing the new suits he had tailored for them, nearly identical to his though they were red and blue for the brothers instead of his royal purple. He said they were gifts for a job well done since they started working in the casino and did a great job when they hosted the events.

“Yes it’s always great to see everyone come out to enjoy the evening when we hold these events.” Mugman said into the mic once the crowd calmed down. “We hope that you all enjoy what we have planned and be sure to tip your waiter or waitress well this evening. And now on with the show.” He called as the brothers left the stage. Dice chuckled as he looked back to the group of men that were in front of him when each showed their hands he was once again the victor.

“Sorry boys, looks like lady luck has favored me once again.” Dice smirked as the men threw their cards down and walked off with a smaller pride then when they walked in. Dice picked up the cards and neatly put them back under the table, with no customers in front of him it allowed him to fully hear what was going on over at the stage. Men were catcalling and whistling as a young woman walked on the stage, she looked to be somewhere in her early to mid 20’s, her long scarlet red hair fell down in waves just a little past her shoulders, her skin was blessed with a light tan that almost seemed to give her an angelic glow under the spotlight, the black evening gown that she wore was hugging her curves perfectly and had a decent size slit in the dress that traveled up the skirt of the dress just ending under her right hip. As Dice took her in he then notice her arms, vines circled them starting at the top of her shoulder ending at her wrists, her nails were maybe a niche long and a deep shade of purple looking more like thorns then actual nails. He found himself wandering over to an empty table right there in front of the stage and taking a seat right as she was about to sing and when she did he was fully under her spell.

 _**“You had plenty money 1922** _  
_**You let other women make a fool of you** _  
_**Why don’t you do right, like some other men do?** _  
_**Get out of here, and get me some money too.”** _

Her voice was smooth and seductive, her deep blue eyes reminded Dice of sapphires, she was scanning the crowd who all had their eyes on her until those beautiful eyes landed on him and a small smile graced her lips as their eyes locked he had to turn away his gaze. He could hear his heart thudding in his ears, his cheeks a dusty shade of purple as he tried to compose himself. The young woman made her way down the steps avoid the other men that tried to grab at her, they were not who she wanted, and without much effort she was able to get them to back away from her as she made her way to where the king was sitting alone, well almost alone.

 _**“You’re sitting there wondering what it’s all about** _  
_**You ain’t got no money, they will put you out** _  
_**Why don’t you do right, like some other men do?** _  
_**Get out of here and get me some money too.”** _

“She is something else, wouldn’t you say so Dice?” A familiar voice asked him to his left and as he looked over he saw the big man himself, the Devil sitting there next to him a drink in his hand and a knowing grin and a raised eyebrow. Dice merely scoffed and waved his hand in front of his face dismissing the question, his walls starting to build themselves back up. He had no time for love or romantic feelings, especially to one he had never met before, and giving his line of work he couldn’t afford to be distracted.

“She’s nothing special, you know as well as I that it doesn’t take much to put these chumps in a trance and get them to be quiet for a moment or two . Now I should return to my tasks, someone has to keep this mess of a place in check.” Dice said as he made a move to leave but there were just a few problems. For starters the few people that were at some of the other tables earlier had now all made their way to the dining area to watch the singer, and two a chain had seemed to wrap around Dice’s leg keeping him from going too far from the table. This causes the Devil to laugh as he saw the confusion on Dice’s face.

“What’s the rush Rag’s everyone is out here having a good time, you should as well.” Another voice said to Dice’s right, a voice he was not wanting to hear until later this evening. Looking over he saw who some would consider the left hand of the Devil, Jack. His halo crooked and ready to fall off his head, his black fedora covering his slicked back black hair. He was looking over at Dice with his signature grin and flashed his wandering sin eyes as if he had heard a joke. Dice groaned as he crossed his arms and looked back to the woman and tried to look bored but as he did he felt his walls come back down even harder this time as he watched her movements. Jack and the Devil looked at one another and each gave a nod as the watched the starstruck manager fall under her spell.

 _**“If you had prepared 20 years ago** _  
_**You wouldn’t be a-wandering out from door to door** _  
_**Why don’t you do right, like some other men do?** _  
_**Get out of here and get me some money too.”** _

Dice had to admit her voice was impressive and he was even more impressed that she was able to move around the room with a confidence that he had never seen before, to be fair it was kind of a turn on for him, wondering what it would take to make her bend to his will and wishes. He shook his head to remove the fantasies that were starting to form in his mind. She continued to make her way over to the table seeing two newcomers and her eyes seemed to grow brighter and more playful, if that was even possible.

 _**“I fell for your jiving and I took you in** _  
_**Now all you got to offer me is a drink of gin** _  
_**Why don’t you do right, like some other men do?** _  
_**Get out of here and get me some money too.”** _

She had held her hand out to the Devil who took it with a sly grin as he placed a kiss on her knuckles, his eyes were slanted and his wide toothy grin would have normally sent anyone running for the hills, but she had held her ground and smiled back and then turned her eyes to Dice who felt his stomach tie up into knots and his heart seeming to almost stop. With a snap of his finger the Devil removed the table and had spun the young woman over to Dice who fell right on to his lap and she smiled at him like she wanted that to be the outcome. She was extremely close to him and her blue eyes looked into his onyx orbs, she was so close to him he was able to catch a whiff of her perfume. It was a divine scent, a mixture of roses and lilies, her lips were a beautiful shade of red and he wanted to know what they tasted like, she was intoxicating, driving his senses mad with want as he leaned closer ever so slowly.

 _**“Why don’t you do right, like some other men do?** _  
_**Like some other men, do~”** _

With his eyes closed, Dice felt something soft press against his lips, had she actually kissed him? When he opened them he saw that it was a rose instead and she was disappearing back behind the curtains. The crowd went wild with cheers and applause, Even the Devil and Jack were on their feet, joining the crowd in their excitement. Dice was the only one who was sitting there speechless, a rage had started to build its way into him as he stood from his seat and made his way to his office. His cheeks burned in embarrassment, he ignored the calls from Jack and even the Devil himself, he knew he was going to regret that later but at the current moment he didn’t care. Once he reached the safety of his office he looked down at the flower that was still clutched in his hand, silents surrounded him. He ran a hand down his face as he slowly made his way over to his desk and a bottle of scotch that awaited him like an old friend, popping off the cork he poured a decent amount into the glass and opened a black box that sat to the left of the pile of soul contracts. In this little box was nine neatly placed cigars he carefully brought on to his lips and took a long drag.

Dice looked down at the rose that was resting in the middle of his desk and thought back to the show that she had put on, she never made moves on any of the other men there, she was making a beeline towards him, why? Was it because he wasn’t drooling after her like the others were, or was it that she saw him as a challenge? Shaking his head he down the first glass of scotch in one gulp and poured himself another. He wasn’t sure when he passed out, the nearly empty bottle of scotch lay on it’s side as Dice slowly felt his eyes close and drift off into a restless sleep as he started to dream, though it felt less like a dream and more like a memory, one that had been playing on a loop for the last several days.

**~Outside Dice's office~**

The singer had followed him, he was so lost in his own head that he never saw her or even heard her walking behind him, she wanted to talk to him to see if he remembered who she was, but when he shut the door and locked it her hopes were dashed as quickly as they came. She placed a hand on his door wondering if she should knock, if she should beg him to open the door and allow her to looking into his eyes once more. Just as she was about to knock, someone lightly grabbed her wrist and held it in place.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you doll, it's best not to disturb the King, especially when he's in that kind of mood." the voice said from behind her and she smiled as she turned away from the door to look at the man who was holding her wrist.

"I guess I should listen to the advice of his friend, to I'll admit, I never expected to see you again, Jack." She smiled and Jack returned his signature grin as he pulled her away from Dice's door and they headed to the bar.

"I'll admit I'm a little surprised myself, Rose. You're a long way from home." he said pulling out a bar stool and sitting next to her as she took a seat. Rose smiled and placed a hand on the ring that hung around her neck.

"Home is wherever he is, now we are going to have a drink and then you are going to take me to your boss, I have a deal for him I'm sure he won't want to pass up." Jack felt his grin stretching wide over his face as he waved the bartender down, tonight just got a whole lot more interesting and he couldn't wait to see where it was going to go.


	2. Dreams of a Lost Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter Two)  
> Dreams can be about many things, fantasies that live deep in our subconscious, nightmares that make little things seem bigger then they really are, and then there's memories. We follow King Dice as he recalls a time in his past that has been haunting him for the last several days, a part of his life that was stripped away from him after he agreed to work for the Devil. Could it be that Rose is what's causing these memories to return? If she is, will King Dice be able to accept that they are real and recall his past, or will he ignore them and be content with the man he is today?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well now already on chapter two and this one took me nearly my whole shift at work to write up, well more of type up seeing is how I had it already written down on paper. The point of the matter is I'm getting the hang of this and I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks so far. Please be sure to leave a review and tell me what you thought.
> 
> I'd also like to give a shout out to X-01-King for letting me use his OC Jack and also to brightgoat for making some very inspiring pieces of art work that really got the gears turning in my head. Both of these guys are on Tumblr and you should go and check them out! Also a Shout out to Shavs Media Productions on Youtube who did a Comic dub of brightgoats work and making me laugh every time I watched their videos.
> 
> I do not own the following.  
> Cuphead  
> Jack (Belongs to x-01-king tumblr)  
> Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtj5eSVgKM4 (As it does not have a title I suggest you all go take a look at it.)

**_~Dice’s Dream~_ **

**** _ “Ah fuck it I fold, I have no idea how you keep winning Dice, I swear you’re cheating!” A rowdy man yelled at the dealer behind the table who only smirked with a mischievous glint in his mint green eyes. _

_ “Maybe next time you’ll listen to your buddy when he says no one can beat me.” Dice laughed as he shuffled the cards skillfully. The men stood up from the table and made their way to the bar each of them mumbling something about how a loved one was ether going to kill them or leave them for once again betting more than what they could afford to lose on a game of chance. Dice let out a soft chuckle as he looked around the bustling casino, when he didn’t see anyone heading his way he decided to take a small brake and headed over to the bar himself to have a much needed drink. The sound of the band was finally able to reach his ears, as he normally tunes everything out around him as he’s working. The smooth jazz relaxed his shoulders and put a pep in his step as he took a seat on a lone bar stool away from all the other customers as he waited on the bar man to finish taking the other orders. _

_ “The usual boss?” the bar keep asked him with a gruff voice placing a glass in front of him. Dice gave a quick nod and turned his attention to the stage as his foot tapped along with the music, when it ended the band's leader stepped up to the mic. He was a young man, mid to late 20’s, he and his group had been coming here not long after Dice started his job as a dealer.  _

_ “Man oh man it’s always swell to see such a fine crowd out tonight. Now our next song is going to be sung by a special guest so I hope you cool cats will love her as much as I do.” He called over the mic waving for someone off stage to join him, Dice was pulled back to his drink which was being poured for him so he didn’t see who it was coming out. _

_ “How’s the tables been tonight boss?” The bar keep asked with a knowing grin as Dice took a swing of his drink. _

_ “Still undefeated, lady luck must just favor me over everyone else this evening.” Dice laughed as he flicked his wrist and an ace was there resting in his hands. You see Dice was never a fair man, he was a scammer and a good one at that, there were some who said he could make a man bet his soul if he was desperate, or rather, greedy enough to make back all he lost and more. The bar keep chuckled as he left Dice to his drink and went to go take care of the other customers allowing Dice to quickly place the card back up his sleeve before anyone saw it, and then he heard the most beautiful voice, a voice that could steal anyone’s breath away. _

**_“A silver coin in the night sky_ **

**_Flips over and over_ **

**_It takes an eternity to decide_ **

**_What’ll be the best side to all back on._ **

**_Oh you won’t tell now_ **

**_No you won’t tell now_ **

**_If we’ll live, if we’ll die tonight.”_ **

_ Though it was a short song Dice was entranced by the singer that was on stage, her short scarlet red hair was curled under, bangs covering the left side of her face, a dark purple cocktail dress hugged her perfect curves that would drive any man wild with want. The room burst into applause, Dice included as he seemed more excited then the others around him. Though the excitement was short lived as the band’s leader came over and wrapped his arms around her giving her a kiss on the cheek. _

_ “Dice! I don’t pay you to sit on your ass, get back to your table and keep making me money!’ Dice heard his boss call out looking more angrier than he normally did. Will a roll of his eyes Dice downed the rest of his drink and made his way back over to his table, his heart feeling more and more heavy with each step he took, till his ears caught something that once again gave him some form of hope. _

_ “Let’s give it up once again for my lovely sister Rose!” the leader called over the mic and Dice felt his confidence return ten fold. _

_ ‘Rose hmm, I might just have a chance after all.’ Dice thought as he reopened his table and waved a few men over. Lady Luck was more on his side then he thought tonight. _

**~Two Years Later~**

_ “Come on Rose you almost had it, try again.” Dice said as he and Rose were sitting at his table while he was showing her a few card tricks. She had shown interest in wanting to learn, and it was a slow night with it being a Sunday. Dice still didn’t understand why his boss kept the place open but hey money was money and he was paid by the hour not the customer. _

_ “I’m starting to think I’ll never get this simple trick down Dice. I’m hopeless.” Rose said being over dramatic as usual and Dice couldn’t help but smile at his love while she pretended that she was going to faint. With a laugh he took her hand and brought it to his lips giving it a light kiss. _

_ “Must you always be so dramatic my love?” He asked her and Rose only gave a nod as she felt her cheeks turn red. After the first night That Dice had laid his eyes on Rose he wasted no time is wooing her over. He had bought her a drink before the casino closed down and they spent a good part of the night talking and learning about the other, though Rose played hard to get. She knew his type, or at least she thought she did. She figured that he was just looking to spend a night with her and then move on to the next easy pray, but he was either a patient man or he was true in everything he told her and said to her. _

_ Though her brother was still not buying into it, he had never seen his sister so happy before and thus kept his thoughts to himself. Dice seemed like a decent sort the more the two of them spent time together, well until one evening… _

_ ~ _ **_One Year Prior~_ **

__

__ **_“Boys, boys must we always use such violence?” Dice asked as he was backed up against a wall a gun being held in between his eyes. Along with being a cheater at his job, Dice also owed a good bit of money to some unsavory characters, and this tended to get him in a bit of trouble. Normally he’d be able to talk his way out of it, allowing himself to get the money from a different loan shark that was looking for desperate pray, but then the cycle would start all over again, each one worse than the last. It was becoming more of a challenge for him to talk his way out and this time he was sure he was going to lose his life._ **

**_“Gentlemen what seems to be the problem here?” A voice called out from the shadows. When Dice turned to see what kind soul had come to save him he felt his heart sink in despair as the person stepped into the dim street lamps glow. It was Rose’s brother Joshua, and he looked less than thrilled to see who was being held at gunpoint._ **

**_“J-Joshua, fancy running into you here on such a fine evening. The boys and I were just having a bit of a laugh.” Dice tried to explain but he could tell from the look on Joshua’s face that he wasn’t buying it._ **

**_“How much does he owe you boys?” Joshua asked as he pulled out his wallet, shifting through the bills._ **

**_“Why would you want to help this good for nothing runt?” The man holding the gun asked looking like he was itching to pull the trigger._ **

**_“My reasons are my own, now I’ll ask again. How much does he owe you?” Joshua asked looking rather irritated. The man holding the gun pulled it away from Dice’s face and placed it back in its holster that was against his hip._ **

**_“Fine, the runt owes us three hundred and fifty dollars.” the man said, holding out his hand. Joshua handed him the money as if it was nothing and to be fair, it really wasn’t, he and his band had made enough that he could have moved him and his sister to a different city and start all over, get them out of this god forsaken pit. However he knew that she wanted to stay, not only for the fact that their family lived in the area, but she didn’t want to be pulled away from Dice any time soon._ **

**_“Pleasure doing business with you sir.” The man smiled and then turned back to Dice who was still pressed up against the wall thinking that he was still going to be shot. “As for you runt I’d suggest you learn never to cross paths with us again, the boss doesn't take too kindly to run away debtors.” He warned and he and his men left them alone in the alleyway. Dice placed a hand over his racing heart but he wasn’t out of the dog house yet. He looked over at Joshua who had already placed his wallet away and had his arms crossed over his chest glaring daggers right at Dice._ **

**_‘Oh if looks could kill, I’d be six feet under already.’ Dice thought as he cleared his throat and dusted himself off._ **

**_“Joshua, I can not thank you enough for-”_ **

**_“Save it Kingsly.” Joshua spat out and Dice flinched at the use of his first name, he hated that name and preferred to be called by his last but he thought better than to voice his irritation to the brother of the woman he loved very much._ **

**_“You put yourself in danger once again, what would have happened had I not followed after you, had I not stepped in and saved you for being shot in the head?!” Joshua shouted he was getting more and more angry and then he said the one situation that nearly stopped Dice’s heart._ **

**_“What if Rose was with you and they killed her as a warning?” He asked in a whisper but it was enough to shake Dice to his core. Joshua was right, he couldn’t continue to talk his way out of danger for long and if he was caught with Rose and they used her as a warning, Dice would never forgive himself._ **

**_“I know I need to change, I know I’m not the man that she deserves but, I love her Joshua more than I’ve ever loved anyone. I used to believe I was bound for hell and then I was given an angel a chance to prove I’m not just some bad guy. I Promise this will be the last time you have to pull me out of a mess, I’ll change for her and prove that I am worthy of her.” Dice promised as tears fell from his eyes staining his cheeks. Joshua looked at him and felt his rage start to lower, he wanted more then anything to scream at him that he would never be worthy of her, that he would never be allowed near his sister again. All he could do was walk up to him and place a hand on his shoulder._ **

**_“Come on, lets go get a drink, you look like you could use one.” Joshua offered with a small smile, Dice returned the smile and the two of them walked out of the ally and down the street to a lone bar that was still open._ **

**_~Back in the Casino~_ **

_ Sadly Rose did find out, a debt collector came to the apartment they shared and he was asleep after a long night at work. She had opened the door and they passed along a message that if he didn’t pay soon, there was going to be trouble. There was a long fight that night, a lot of things were broken too. Dice had to call out of work so that he could fix things and that only seemed to make matters worse. When the sun rose up that morning all the fight in both of them seemed to be spent, Dice begged and Begged her to forgive him, promising that he was going to be a changed man. He wasn’t sure if it was her love for him overpowered her anger, or she was just too tired to continue to fight with him about it. _

_ ‘What’s done is done.’ Rose said and spent the rest of the morning holding one another until they both fell asleep. Dice since then had done his best to prove he was a changed man and within a year nearly all his debts were paid off thanks to Joshua and Rose, but there was one more that he needed to take care of but this one was going to be the biggest gamble of his very life, had he only know it would end in bloodshed. The sound of the Casino doors opening caught his attention and he felt his heart speed up as four men walked through looking around like they were looking for someone, like they were looking for him. Dice tried to remain calm but it was too late, Rose had followed his gaze and she saw the men and she was able to put two and two together. A look of hurt crossed her face and Dice felt his heart shattered at that look, knowing he was the one who caused it. _

_ “I thought you said you were done with this Dice?” She whispered sadly Dice was at a loss for words, all he could do was cup her cheek and kissed her forehead softly. _

_ “One more game my love, with these winnings we can leave this dump of a city, all of us, and go where ever you want. A fresh start for all of us.” he whispered to her as he moved to hold her hand in his. Rose looked into his eyes and she saw there was truth in what he was saying, this is what he really wanted and it was this last game that was going to set him free to keep that promise. She let a sigh escaped her lips as she brought his hand to her lips and gave it a light kiss, her eyes giving him the permission to go forward with this crazy idea. She stood up from the table and began to make her way out the door and to their home, well she tried to that was. _

_ “Where do you think you’re going girly?” One of the men asked as he took a hold of her arm to keep her from going anywhere. He had a long scar across the bridge of his nose and eyes filled with a hunger as they raked over her body, a cigar was held between his teeth as he forced her to sit back down at the table. Dice felt his blood run cold, as he tried to come up with a way to get them to let her go. _

_ “Now, now gents no reason to force the little lady to stay if she wishes to leave.” he said getting ready to try and pry her away from them when once again Joshua stepped in to save the day. _

_ “Rose what are you still doing here father wanted us back an hour ago.” He said getting in between the men and taking his sister by her other arm. The man with the scar looked like he was going to say something when Joshua glared at him to try something when he glanced over at the owner of the casino, knowing these men would be thrown out faster then they could blink if they were caught messing with the band that brought in the most business. The man let Rose go and she and her brother were able to take their leave, she found herself looking back at dice and he gave her a brave smile even though terror filled his eyes. _

_ “He’ll be okay Rose, let’s just get home and I’ll stay with you till he comes home.” Joshua whispered as they walked through the revolving door and out into the cold autumn air. Once they were gone the gang turned back to Dice who had a bored expression on his face, he would not show that he was scared, he would not give them that satisfaction. _

_ “So what can I do for you gents?’ Dice asked with a smirk on his face as one of the men grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. _

_ “The boss wants his money boy, and he doesn’t like to be kept waiting. so either you hand it over, or we will be forced to beat it out of you.” The man with the scar across his nose said as he pulled his jacket aside to show the gun that he had resting on his hip. Dice looked down at it then back up to the man his eyes held a glint of mischief. _

_ “I have a better idea, how about a deal?” Dice asked and the man raised a bushy eyebrow at what he just said. _

_ “What kind of deal boy?” The man asked taking a long drag of his cigar and blow it in Dice’s face who only waved the smoke away. _

_ “One hand. If you win I’ll pay you double what I owe, but if I win I never see or hear from you or your boss ever again.” Dice offered and the men smirked as if he never heard a better deal in his life. _

_ “You got a deal boy, ain’t no one been able to beat me yet so this will be a walk in the park.” He said and let him go as he sat down at the table waiting for dice to take his normal spot and started shuffling the deck of cards. It goes without saying that Dice had no intention of playing fair, he was still a cheat and old habits die hard if they ever died at all, and he still hadn’t been caught once. Had he only know that all his sins were about to catch up with him that very evening as someone else was watching the events that were playing out. The on looker saw Dice as he skillfully switched out the cards that he had for the ones that he needed. _

_ “Can’t have that anymore now can we?” The on looker whispered, and with a wave of his hand he slowly started to tear at Dice’s sleeve without him noticing. _

_ “A royal flush, looks like you lost Dice, you better-” The man with the scar started but was confused when Dice started laughing as he laid his hand down and he had all aces and that’s when everything seemed to happen at once. The sleeve on Dice’s arm ripped out of nowhere and all the cards that he hid were falling out onto the table for all to see. There was a moment of silent and in that moment Dice did the only thing he was better at than cheating…He ran out the door. _

_ Dice could hear the men chasing after him, shouts of cusses and promises to beat him within an inch of his life rang through the air as he tried to put as much distance between him and them, but as so he wasn’t watching where he was going and his foot landed on an empty bottle causing him to fall to the ground with the four men looming over him. _

_ “You’re going to regret trying to cheat us out of the bosses money. Looks like we need to teach this cheater a lesson.” The man with the scar said as he took his gun out and took two shots into Dice’s knees. He screamed in pain as the hot lead went through his skin and bones, two of the other men each grabbed a hold on one of his arms and broke them as well, the sickening crack of his bones seemed to ring in his ears. Dice thought he was going to be sick as the pain washed over him, his eyes started to feel heavy as he was about to close them and then felt a hard smack across his face keeping him awake. _

_ “Don’t you dare close your eyes on me boy I want you awake to hear this. I’m going to kill you and then I’m going to go after that pretty girl you were with and kill her brother while I make her watch and then me and the boys are going to have some fun with her.” He said with a smirk when he saw with each word that left his lips fed a rage deep within Dice. _

_ “I swear to whatever god is listening I will kill you with my bare hands if you dare lay a finger on her!” Dice shouted as he tied to stand and throw a punch but the pain was just too much and he fell back on the ground howling in pain. The man with the scar only laughed as he nodded his head to his boys who each took a turn in beating Dice. Once they were done and backed away from the broken men, the Man with the scar leaned down so that only Dice could hear what he was going to say. _

_ “All you had to do was pay and now look what you’ve done.You’re going to get two more people killed tonight. Don’t worry I’ll let the little lady know that with your dying breath you screamed her name.” He said as he placed the barrel of his gun at Dice’s abdomen and pulled the trigger. Dice felt the blood build up in his mouth as he leaned away and it spattered on the ground under him. _

_ “Come on boys, the little bitch and her bodyguard couldn’t have gotten too far.” The man with the scar said as the other three walked ahead of him Dice made one last effort to stop them as he grabbed a hold of his leg. _

_ “L-leave her, o-o-out of this.” Dice coughed blood dripped from his split lip and the man only laughed as he kicked Dice’s hand off and stepped on his hand braking more bones. _

_ “Next time you’ll do as you’re told.” He said and walked away leaving Dice all on his own. _

_ Somehow he had managed to get himself on to his back, though every movement felt like hell. He looked up into the starless night and felt tears roll down his cheeks. She was in trouble because of him, she was going to die because of him. _

_ “If anyone is listening...I-I don’t want to die like this. I’ll give anything to live through this and save my girl. Please I don’t want her to be hurt because of me.” Dice pleaded to the silent night, he wasn’t expecting an answer, so it nearly made him scream when someone did answer him. _

_ “You seemed to have taken quite a beating.” The voice said in almost a mocking tone as he came into Dice’s view and stood over him. “That bullet wound has you bleeding out like a stuck pig, you don’t have long before you’ll die.” He said kneeling down in front of Dice, his yellow eyes seemed to glow in the darkened ally way. A parchment appeared out of thin air along with an ink pen which the stranger dipped in Dice’s blood. _

_ “Sign your soul over to me and you will live, but you will work for me for the rest of eternity.” He said as he handed dice the pen. Dice looked up at the man as he careful signed his name.  _

_ “Who are you?” he whispered and felt his heart nearly stop as the stranger took the parchment and removed the coat that hung around him. Black fur was the first thing Dice noticed about him and as his eyes traveled up he saw two horns, his yellow eyes reminded dice of a snake ready to strike as his booming voice answered. _

_ “You know me as Lucifer, the Devil.” He said and then Dice blacked out. _

**~Back in King Dice’s office~**

Dice shoot up from his desk as he heard a knocking at his door, he clutched his racing heart as he looked around the room reminding himself where he was, and that everything he just saw was only a dream. Placing a hand on his head he mumbled a soft curses as he stood up from his desk and walked over to his door removing the lock and opening it to see Cuphead and Mugman standing there with smiles on their faces, well they were until they saw King Dice.

“Mr. Dice are you alright?” Mugman asked worry etched into his voice as he saw how tired his boss looked.

“Yeah you’re not looking too well.” Cuphead added his voice laced with worry as well. Dice waved his hand in front of his face as if he was brushing off their worry.

“Yes, yes boys I-I’m fine. You all just woke me up that's all. Now did you need something?” Dice asked as he turned to walk back into his office to tidy everything up.

“O-Oh right the big boss wants to see you in his office, said it was important.” Mugs answered. Dice felt his shoulders slump he was sure it was to get an earful after how he acted earlier this evening.

“Thank you boys I’ll head right over to him.” He said as he made a move to grab his tail coat and slip it over his arms and make himself look presentable for the big man himself.

“So what did you think about the show King Dice?” Cups asked clearly trying to lighten the mood. Dice smiled as he looked back at the boys, they were good kids who had good hearts. Elder Kettle raised them well, even if they could be the biggest pains in his ass he had grown fond of the two of them as well as a kind of respect.

“Job well done as always boys and those suits you two are wearing don’t look half bad if I do say so myself.” He said with a smirk as his eyes lit up playfully. Mugman laughed a little as he rubbed the back of his head. cuphead only returned to smirk and nodded in agreement.

“Yeah they do look pretty good on us, I dare say we look even better then the King himself.” Cuphead laughed which earned him an eye roll from King Dice.

“Yeah yeah whatever you say Cupface, now scram the both of you. You have a long day tomorrow to make up for tonight.” He said as he walked past the two brothers and made his why to the boss.

Once he reached the door he swore ice was starting to form in the pit of his stomach he had really hoped that the Devil was in a relatively good mood. Right as he raised his hand to know on the door he heard voices coming from the other side.

“I personally think it’s a good deal boss, I think you should take it.” That voice definitely belonged to the pain in the ass Jack.

“Are you sure about this little flower? There is no going back once you agree.” He heard the Devil ask, was someone willing to make a deal with the Devil and then he heard who was making the deal.

“I’m willing to do anything to get back the love of my life, we’ve got a deal.” Rose said as Dice burst through the door to see them shaking hands and a parchment floating back into the Devil’s hands. 


	3. A New Family

“Ah good Dice you finally decided to join us.” The Devil said as a sick twisted grin rested on his lips as he saw the panicked look in Dice’s eyes.

‘Oh, this just got a lot more interesting, is he starting to remember, or has he just merrily fallen that fast for her.’ The Devil thought as he took a hold of his chin rubbing it in thought, he knew that even if he was starting to remember Dice would never allow himself to be so weak again not after he’s come so far to be the man he is now.

“Introduce her to the rest of the staff and then show her to her room, after which I want you to return to my office as soon as she’s settled.” He said as he turned away, his back to all three of them as he waited for them to leave. Jack pushed his hat back from out of his eyes as he threw an arm around Rose and pulled her out the door.

“You’re going to love the rest of the family Rosie, we all may be a little out there but I’m sure you’ll fit in just fine.” He said with a huge grin on his face. As he started to pass Dice he gave him a look of worry.

“I’ll introduce her to the rest of the gang Dice, you can come find us when you’re ready.” he said as he and Rose walked out the door and the doors slowly closed behind them.

“Tell me Dice, do you remember anything from before you became the manager of my casino?” The Devil asked as he lit up a cigar, turning back to face King Dice. Dice cleared his throat and stood there with his hands behind his back composing himself.

“Not really sir, the memories are still hazy.” King Dice said keeping his eyes on his boss who had a sly grin stretched across his face.

“When I had found you, you were bleeding out in a cold alleyway. Had you not sold your soul to me, you would have died in that alleyway.” The Devil said as he took a long drag from the cigar. Dice felt a twinge in his gut as the hazy memory played in his mind to him laying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, someone was standing over him but he couldn’t make out who it was all he could make out was a high pitched laugh, it sounded femanie.

“Yes and the person who killed you, or tried to at least, was the very woman who was just in this room.”

  


**~Out in the lobby~**

“Everyone gather round, I’d like you all to meet our newest family member.” Jack called waving his arms in the air having everyone gathering around the bar. Most of the time they would have just ignored him, but no one felt like dealing with his crazy shit so they decided to humor him and gathered around. Rose felt her cheeks turn red as she gave a small wave to everyone that looked at her. Jack cleared his throat and waved his hand towards her.

“Everyone, this is Rosemary Thorn, she’s going to be our cabbrate singer from now on, so the boss wants you all to give her a warm welcome, and if you don’t, well then you’ll just have to deal with me.” He said with a shrug of his shoulders and a wide grin stretching over his face making everyone in the room slightly uncomfortable. When it came to Dice and the Devil everyone knew how they would react, Jack on the other hand was a true wildcard no one knew how or when he was going to snap.

“Well howdy there little lady, my name is Chips Bettigan. It’s a real pleasure to meet you Miss. Thorn.” Chips said giving her a big grin as he held out a gloved hand towards her. Rose took it in hers and returned the smile which reached her eyes. “Pleasure to meet you Chips.” Everyone seemed to relax as one by one they all introduced themselves to her. Cups and Mugs each gave her a hug happy to see that she would once again be with them and their family of misfits. She had to admit, seeing the two boys here gave her comfort and made her feel a little safer 

“So this is our new lead singer, she is a pretty one that’s for sure.” A gruff voice said from behind her and a ring of smoke blew from behind her. When Rose turned around she felt her stomach drop. A large cigar held out his hand to her. “I’m Mr. Wheezy, welcome to the family girly, I’m sure you’ll fit in just fine.” He said with a smile, well more of a smirk as he looked down at her his heavy brown coat rested on his broad shoulders as he waited for her to make a move. Rose took a gulp as she slowly reached out and took his hand in hers.

“P-pleasure to meet you Wheezy.” She stuttered.

Jack took notice to this and really looked at Wheezy, what would be causing her to freeze up like that, he was no different than the others she had met, what about him made her so nervous, and then a memory came back to him. He leaned in real close to her ear and whispered something so low even she almost missed it.

“That’s not the same guy, no where near the same person at all. Trust me you’re safe with this bunch.” He said and gave her a wink when she looked at him.

“How did you-”

“Well if that’s everyone, I say it’s time we all get out and back to your rooms. I don’t want to hear any complaining tomorrow about how you’re all tired from being up at this hour.” King Dice said as he stood behind everyone else, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared harshly. Quickly everyone took their leave wishing Rose a good night and once again welcoming her. Once everyone had left it was just Jack, King Dice, and her in the lobby.

“If you’ll follow me Miss. Rose I’ll show you where you’ll be living from now on.” Dice said coldly as he turned and made his way down the same hallway the others went down. She looked over at Jack who merely shrugged his shoulders as if to say he had no idea what was going on with him. Sighing to herself Rose followed after him and Jack took that as his que to also turn in for the night, as he vanished in a puff of smoke. The walk down the hallway was awkward at best, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of their shoes hitting the tile floor with each step that they took.

“So, um thank you for-”

“Here we are.” Dice said as he stopped in front of a rather large doorway, pulling out a ring of keys he flipped through them until he came to a small silver key in the shape of a music note, and slipped it into the door unlocking it with ease and opened the door for her. Just as he was about to take his leave Rose, without thinking grabbed his arm to stop him. Dice did his best as he tried to ignore the words the Devil had said to him as they rang in his ears.

_“Yes and the person who killed you, or tried to at least, was the very woman who was just in this room.”_

“Dice, it’s really good to see you again, you look like you’ve been doing well for yourself.” She said with a smile but it quickly vanished as he slammed her against the wall, her shoulders screamed in pain as he put all his weight into keeping her still.

“I don’t know what kind of game you think you’re playing but I will not allow it. If you’ve come to finish the job, well hate to break it to you doll but being the right hand man of the Devil has its perks.” Dice growled lowly his eyes turning a bright green. Rose looked at him a mixture of terror and confusion etched into her face she tried to open her mouth to speak but her voice was lost to her.

‘What has gotten into him, does he not recognize me?’ She thought to herself, this wasn’t her Dice this wasn’t the man she fell in love with. What happened to him?

“I don’t know what deal you made with the Devil, and I don’t know what you plan on doing while you are here, but step out of line again and I’ll personally show you what true hell looks like." Dice warned as he pushed off of her and walked away, leaving a heartbroken Rose standing there alone as she watched him walk away. When he rounded the corner Dice held his head in pain, his heart felt like it was shattering, why was he feeling like this, what was happening to him.

“You doing okay there rags? You seemed to be troubled." A voice said from behind him and he growled lowly.

“It’s King, not Rags. And what do you care anyway Jack?” Dice snapped at the strange toon that stood before him. His past was almost as much a mystery to him as his very own, not that he really cared, as long as he did his job that all that mattered to him.

“What can I not be worried about my old pal when he’s looking like he regretting the words he said to our new flower?” Jack said as the wondering sin eyes replaced his onyx orbs.

“If you think you can scare me into apologizing to your new ‘friend’ you’re barking up the wrong tree. I would watch how you talk to your betters." Dice warned his eyes still a bright green and Jack only laughed at him.

“You think your better then me, you were pulled from the gutter with no one to care or wonder where you went. Well I guess that not entirely true, there was someone who missed you and lost without you. Though I’m not sure why, especially now, you’re nothing but a heartless monster that enjoys making pretty girls cry." Jack said as he started walking away. “I’d be careful in who you put your trust into ‘King’ not everyone here has got your back like others do." he finished as he once again disappeared in a puff of black smoke. Dice stood there for a moment in shock repeating Jack’s words in his head.

‘What did he mean by that? The boss would have no reason to lie to me, but then again…’ Dice once again felt sick to his stomach as his head started swimming with memories, hazy memories of him with a young woman, he couldn’t make her out, but he could see himself and he was happy. Shaking his head Dice made his way to his room and went inside locking himself inside as the memories continued to swarm his thoughts, as well as a non stop string of questions.

Who was the girl in his memories, what was Jack implying, was the Devil lying to him when he said Rose was the person who tried to kill him, what was this deal that Rose made with the Devil, and who was this true love she was trying to get back, was it him? She seemed to act differently around him then the others more softer, more caring. He thought back to how he spoke to her in the halls, her eyes looked so hurt so broken by his words and she looked like she had no idea what he was implying. He found himself pacing his room as he repeated the same questions over and over again in his head, growing more frustrated when he couldn’t think of an answer. There were too many things that didn’t add up, pieces of the puzzle that weren’t fitting together and he felt like he was going to go mad if he could get an answer. Storming out of his room he made a beeline towards the room that he showed Rose, once he reached the door he raised his hand to knock when he heard Rose on the other side. Lowering his head he pressed and ear to the door and she was singing and he felt his heart ache at her words.

**_“When the wind is howling_ **

**_and the rain is pouring down_ **

**_and the tears are falling_ **

**_but they never make a sound_ **

**_My heart breaks in silents cause there’s no one else around_ **

**_And I’m lost in heartache_ **

**_and I don't want to be found_ **

**_Please tell me why you had to go_ **

**_and leave out here all alone_ **

**_I miss you_ **

**_I miss you_ **

**_I miss you_ **

**_I miss you_ **

**_I miss you_ **

**_I miss you_ **

**_I miss you_ **

**_I miss…”_ **

****

**** Rose was unable to finish the rest of the song as sobs over took her and Dice felt his heart lerch in his chest. He wanted to go in there and comfort her, to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay. There was more to this then anyone was letting on and he needed to try and figure this out quick before things got any worse. Dice slowly walked away from the door and back to his own room, feeling more tired then he has in a long time he fell to the bed and soon was sound asleep, and for once, it was a dreamless night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guys three chapters in and I'm still feeling pretty good about this, I'm sorry it's not as long as the other two chapters but I promise chapter four with be longer.
> 
> Things I still don't own.  
> Cuphead  
> Jack  
> Song: I miss you by Arlaner


	4. So Much Loss, So Much to Gain

**_~Earlier that night In the Devil’s Office~_ **

**** “Rosemary Thorn, have to admit I never thought I’d find you here in my casino. What’s a lovely young ‘pure’ flower like yourself doing here at the edge of hell?” The Devil asked with a knowing grin resting on his face as he held a cigar in his fingers as he looked at the young woman sitting in front of him. Rose felt herself glare at the Devil, she was not here for games, and she was in no mood to try and banter with him. She was here to get Dice back, and she refused to leave empty handed. Pulling out a cigarette from her hand back she brought it to her lips and lit it up, taking a long drag.

“Things went south after someone I loved was killed in cold blood...twice.” She said as a ring of smoke floated around her. This caused the Devil to laugh as he pulled out a book that held her name in neat cursive on the front and he opened it up to the very page she was looking for.

“Yes after the death of your brother and you dear Dice, you went out and killed four men, along with the death of your own child. A home abortion, tell me did you do it yourself or did you have some help? I hear that doesn’t leave a woman the same after.” he laughed as he closed the book and Rose felt her cheeks grow red from the rage that was building inside of her.

“I’m not here to talk about my past mistakes or explain my story to you, monster. I came here for one reason and one reason only. I want Dice back, I want you to let him go.” She said as she tried to keep her voice calm. The devil was betting her, she knew that, but she was not going to let him get under her skin, she was not going to let him toy with her. The Devil felt a twinge of agravation at her, she was either really brave or really stupid for talking back to him and making demands in his domaine, but he diecided to let it go this once, to see where things would go. He leaned back in his chair, intertwining his fingers together, his yellow eyes were piercing into her very soul, he was trying to discourage her.

“Afraid I can’t do that doll, you see he signed his soul over to me, he belongs to me. Now unless you want to make a deal there is no more to discuss here.” He said getting ready to turn away from her when he says the playfulness in her eyes.

“I thought your lacky would have already told you, that’s the very reason I’m here.” She said. Jack made a sound like his pride was wounded and made it seem like he was going to faint.

“I’m listening then doll, though I doubt you have anything better to offer me.” The devil said rather boredly.

“Give me two weeks, I bet within that time I can get Dice to remember everything from before he came to work for you. If he does, then you throw his contract in the fire and let us go.” She said and the Devil smirked knowingly as he raised an eyebrow at her.

“And if you can’t?” He asked, he could tell her resolve was starting to fail her, she was scared, there was doubt in her mind that she was going to be able to pull this off in that amount of time.

“If I somehow can’t, then I offer you my soul, and my memories as well.” She said her heart now in her throat. The Devil felt his grin growing wider as he stood up from his chair and walked over to her grabbing her chin, his claw like nail resting on her bottom lip.

“Not good enough deary so I’ll throw you a counter offer. I shall give you two weeks to remind your dear Dice of his past, and his love for you. Do so and I’ll let you both go, fail and I not only get your soul and your memories, but you will also belong to me and only me.” He said licking his lips hungrily as his eyes were practically undressing her. She had to fight the urge to pull away from him, her blood felt like it was turning to ice as she considered what he was asking of her if she failed. Not only her soul and memories, but to belong to him, was she really willing to risk that much to get Dice back. She felt the weight of the ring around her neck and she knew the answer right away, yes it was, the risk was worth everything if it meant that she could free Dice and they could walk out of this God forsaken place together.

“You can still walk away, but this is a one time deal, one I will not make again if you don’t accept it now.” The Devil whispered to her sending chills down her spine as she felt his lips that close to her ear, and it wasn’t the good kind of chill either.

“I personally think it’s a good deal boss, I think you should take it.” Jack commented from the sidelines reminding the two, mostly the Devil, that he was still in the room with them. He pulled away and Rose felt like she was able to breathe again as she saw a parchment floating in front of her along with an ink pen with a point that looked sharp enough to cut herself with. She carefully picked the pen up and lightly pricked her finger as she placed it on the contract.

“We have a deal.” Rose whispered as the contract flew back to the Devil and Dice came in.

**~In Rose’s Room~**

Rose found herself laying in the bed looking up at the ceiling, her heart shattering with each breath she took. Had she made a mistake thinking that their love was stronger than any of the Devil's tricks. Had she just agreed to lose everything and belong to that monster? Placing a hand on the ring she felt the tears start to seep from her eyes again, losing Dice was like living in a nightmare that she couldn’t wake up from, and now she was going to become the Devil’s plaything until he tossed her aside.

‘Oh will you snap out of it Rose, you didn’t come this far only to throw in the towel now.’ She could hear her brother telling her and he was right, she knew he was right. She was going to win, she was going to prove that no amount of trick could pull Dice away from her. The mind may forget but the heart knows what it wants in the end. With a smile on her face she felt her eyes slowly start to close, though that smile could not last long as she too started to have dreams of the hell she went through almost a year ago.

  
  


**_~Rose’s Dream~_ **

_ Rose struggled against the man that was holding her in place as the other three ganged up on her brother and started beating him within an inch of his life. The sound of broken bones and her brothers painful gasps filled her ears like she was drowning in there and there was nothing that could pull her out.  _

_ “Please stop it, leave my brother alone!” she shouted tears falling down her cheeks as she just watched helplessly. The men only laughed as they ignored her pleas, continuing to punch and kick her brother who was now laying on the ground trying to shield himself from his attackers, but it was three on one and he could only protect so much.  _

_ “You see girly, this is what happens when you cross with the wrong people. You’re little boyfriend found that out the hard way.” The man with the scar over his nose whispered into her ear and she felt her blood turn cold in that very moment. _

_ “What did you do to him?!” She shouted as she struggled even harder to get away, the man who held her just kicked the back of her knees causing her to fall to the ground and threw a pair of blood soaked dice were thrown in front of her. Rose felt like she was going to be sick as she slowly reached out for them, right as she had her hand around them she felt a sharp kick to her gut that had her curling into a ball on the ground. _

_ “R-R-Rose!” her brother gasped out and right as he was going to crawl over to her a gun was put against the side of his head and the trigger was pulled. The gun shot rang through the silent alleyway as Rose watched her brothers lifeless body hit the ground. They killed him, they had killed her brother, the only family member she was close with gone forever as well as the man she loved. Despair filled her as she screamed like a banshee into the now silent night. She crawled over to him his blood pooling around the bullet hole that was now in his head. Carefully, as if he was a child she picked his head up and wiped a blood soaked finger across his face. _

_ “J-Joshua, p-p-please don’t leave me, don’t leave me here all alone.” She begged softly as she shook his head hoping, praying that someone would hear her pleas, that some angel would come and wake her from this nightmare hell she was in right now. However the only sound she received was the chuckling of the men behind her as they ripped her away from her brothers corpse and dragged her farther back into the alleyway. Once they got to where they felt no one would intervene they placed a gag in her mouth and held a gun to her head. _

_ “Make one little peep dollface and I’ll put a bullet in your head as well.” The man with the scar whispered in her ear as one of his other men stood behind her and kept her arms behind her back, she felt tears fall from her eyes as the man with the scar started to grope at her chest, fondling her breasts with one hand as his other hand started to slip underneath her skirt. He grabbed a hold of her underwear and pulled it down to her knees, without warning he took a finger and shoved it inside her. Rose cried out in pain as she felt the invading digit wiggle around inside of her, she tried her best to get away to kick him away from her but this only earned her a slap across her face. _

_ “The more you struggle, the more I’ll make sure it hurts doll. So be a good girl and just enjoy yourself. I’ll make you feel so good.” He said with a sickening grin plastered on his face as he removed his hands from her and started to fumble with his pants. Rose looked at him her eyes begging him to not go through with this. He, of course ignored her and grabbed the back of her hair pulling on it harshly as he kissed and sucked along her neck. He motioned for the guy that was holding her arms to let go as he flipped her around and he had his lips pressed against hers. Now the man with the scar was holding her arms and lining himself up. Rose screamed as she tried to move away from him but it was no use, she was trapped. All she could do was close her eyes and hope it was over quickly, and without warning he shoved himself inside of her causing her to scream out in pain, it was maybe the worst kind of pain she could have imagined as he roughly stole away her innocents.  _

_ “Fuck baby you’re tight as hell, what is this your first time or something? Hehe Dice never had the balls to make you feel this good. Kind of wish we left him alive she he could see you for the slut you really are.” The man with the scar said as he continued to ram himself inside of her, it felt like she was going to be torn apart. Blood started to seep down her legs, her arms started to feel like they were on fire as he kept pulling on them to keep her still, his movements got faster almost primal as he was coming to his climax. Rose felt bile built up in the back of her throat as she felt him spill inside of her, as he pulled out of her, it felt like her legs were going to give out but she was being held up as she heard the shifting of clothes again behind her as another set of rough hands grabbed a hold of her and repeated the same process all over again. After all of them had their way with her she was left in the alleyway, She wasn’t sure how long she had been laying there before someone found her, all she remembered was soft caring hands lifting her up from the ground and carrying her away from that ally.  _

_ “Don’t worry I’ll get you somewhere safe.” Her savoir whispered to her as she slowly felt her eyes close and she drifted to sleep hoping that this nightmare was going to end. When she opened her eyes again she found herself in a hospital with an IV in her arm, she tried to sit up but a sharp pain in her ribs caused her to cry out as she fell back on the bed. _

_ “Elder kettle she’s awake!” She heard a child's voice call out the door way. When she looked over she saw two children, one was dressed in blue and one was dressed in red, standing in the doorway calling out to someone, this Elder Kettle walked in and smiled softly at her. _

_ “Well it’s good to see that you’re awake dear, I was worried I had got you here too late.” He said to her as he walked over patting her hand kindly. Rose felt herself smile as she tried to open her mouth to speak but her voice only came out as a squeek. _

_ “Boys can you hand me that cup of water over there.” Elder Kettle asked as the boy in red nodded his head as he brought the cup of ice water over to him. Elder Kettle smiled at him and brought it to Rose’s lips, she took several deep gulps of the refreshing liquid sighing in content.  _

_ Rose had come to find out that it was Elder Kettle and his grandson’s, Cuphead and Mugman, who found her in the alleyway. They quickly brought her to the hospital and have been with her ever since wanting to make sure that she was going to pull through. They called the doctor and he asked them to leave so that he could talk to Rose in private. No surprise to her she had suffered a few broken ribs and suffered vaginal tearing, other than that she would heal in time. Rose had asked about her brother but the look he gave her only reminded her that he was dead and gone as well as Dice. _

_ Within the coming weeks Rose was able to heal physically, but mentaily she started to slowly shut herself down. She had been called to identify the bodies of both her brother and Dice, seeing their cold lifeless bodies laying there on the table almost didn’t faze her as she explained what had happened that night the best she could. After that she started preparing the services for them both as she didn’t think she would be able to do two different furnals. For her brother several of their friends and family came to offer words of comfort and asking her how she was doing, as for Dice, well he had very few friends and wasn’t very close with his family. Honestly the only family that showed up was his cousin Minnie who gave Rose a tight hug, as both girls pulled away they both had tears in their eyes. _

_ “He loved you very much Rose, I hope you know that.” Minnie said to her as she dried Rose’s tears with her thumb. Rose nodded her head and forced a smile as she tried to be brave, at least until she was alone again. Once everyone arrived and sat down rose stood before them all and said a few words, talking of the good time she shared with them, and how she was going to miss them. When the service was over and everyone had taken their leave, Rose looked down at the two men she loved more than anything. _

__ **_“I picked up your shirts this morning_ **

**_I don’t know why, I don’t know why_ **

**_Mr. Renolds said to say ‘hello’_ **

**_I started to cry, I started to cry_ **

**_Every place we ever walked and everywhere and everywhere we talked, I miss you_ **

**_You never leave my mind_ **

**_So much of you is left behind._ **

**_You took my days with you_ **

**_Took my nights with you.”_ **

_ Rose started singing as her tears finally flowed down her cheeks while she thought of all the good times between Dice, Joshua, and herself. She looked over at Dice and felt a smile pull at her lips through the tears. When he had come up to her that night to buy her a drink he made a bet with her that if he could make her blush she’d have to go on a date with him, and like the smooth charmer he was, had her blushing all kinds of shades of red.  _

__ **_“Those unfinished conversations we used to have still speak to me_ **

**_And I write you letters everyday_ **

**_That I’ll never send and you’ll never see_ **

**_All this wishful thinking_ **

**_Gets me nowhere I can’t stay_ **

**_Though my heart is broken_ **

**_It keeps breaking everyday_ **

**_You took my hopes with you_ **

**_Took my dreams with you.”_ **

**** _ Rose looked down at her brother and placed a hand over his cold one. Joshua and were always close, hell he pretty much raised her seeing is how their parents were never around. When she wanted to be a singer, it was her brother who gave her the chance as no one else believed she had the looks or the talent to pull in a crowd. Now that her brother was gone the band had decided to split up and each go their own ways, leaving her with crushed dreams.  _

__ **_“I keep thinking that you’ll be calling_ **

**_Everyone says that it’s all in my head_ **

**_And I can’t accept it yet_ **

**_I’m not ready to just give in_ **

**_I know that I can’t live in this pain_ **

**_With these feelings of regret_ **

**_I can’t comprehend this_ **

**_And pretend that I don’t care_ **

**_Any place I wanna be_ **

**_I wanna see you there.”_ **

**** _ Rose took a shaky breath as she sat down on the floor letting all her sadness and despair flow out of her, she was all alone. She was so lost in her own sadness she didn’t hear someone walking up behind her. He looked down at the broken woman feeling his heart grow heavy as he watched her and listened to her song. _

__ **_“You took my life with you_ **

**_Took my world with you.”_ **

**** _ As she finished her song she nearly jumped out of her skin when someone cleared their throat and she quickly stood up seeing who it was. He was dressed in a freshly cleaned black suit with a red bow tie, his skin was pale as freshly fallen snow, clean shaven with his black hair slicked back and being held in place with a black fedora resting on his head, his eyes where what put her off the most, there was a sense of madness hidden in them. _

_ “Such a shame to see such a pretty girl like yourself crying, dry your tears lovely and lets see a smile.” He said to her as he helped her stand up, she carefully dried her eyes and handed it back to him. _

_ “Who are you?” She asked him, keeping her guard up, this was someone she had never met before. He wasn’t part of her family and Dice had never mentioned anyone matching his description. _

_ “Oh forgive me, where are my manners? My name is Jack, I was...well I was a ‘friend’ of our dear Dice.” Jack said as he took his hat off putting in on his chest as he bowed. This only put Rose off farther, she was not too thrilled with how he said the word ‘friend.’ _

_ “Look I don’t know nor do I can how much Dice owed you, I will not pay a dime. So you can go tell who ever it is you work for that-” _

_ “Oh no no no doll, I’m not here to collect, merrily here to assist you.” Jack said, holding up his hands in defence.  _

_ “What do you mean?” She asked raising an eyebrow at him and his grin seemed to get wider as he saw that he had her attention now. _

_ “What if I told you that I can tell you the location of the men that killed Dice and your brother, how would you like that angel?” Jack asked her holding out his hand for her. Rose looked at him, going back and forth if he was offering what she thought he was offering. Carefully she put her hand in his. _

_ “What’s the catch?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song that is used was from Ghost the Musical called with you


	5. A Tainted Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I might re write this chapter I'm not sure yet 
> 
> A pure soul can't be taken to hell, but there were always ways to taint a pure soul
> 
> I'm starting to suck at these summaries

**~A year and three months ago~**

Jack leaned against the brick wall as The Devil emerged from the shadows with an unconscious Dice in his arms. When he looked past him he saw that a copy of Dice had been left there in the same spot.

“It’ll give them something to bury.” The Devil said before Jack could even ask, with a shrug of his shoulders, Jack turned to watch the four men walking in the direction after Rose and her brother.

“Guess I better go collect what’s owed.” Jack said with a wide smile on his face as he started to follow after him when the Devil’s booming voice had stopped him in his tracks.

“I don’t want you to collect their souls just yet Jack, follow them and wait.” He said as he looked down at Dice. “I’m going to have someone else collect their souls.” A twisted grin rested on his lips as he vanished leaving Jack on his own to process what he just heard. Who else was going to collect their souls? Shrugging he went back to following the men, watching as they killed Joshua, and raped Rose. When they were done, and left Rose there on the cold ground, Jack walked in and looked down at her and all at once it made since what the Devil said earlier

_ “I’m going to have someone else collect their souls.” _

__ Jack’s wide grin stretched over his face as he lightly nudged her with his foot. She groaned in pain and tried to roll away from him.

‘Well she’s still alive, she’s a fighter that’s for sure. Now what to do with you.’ Jack thought as he was leaning down to pick her up when someone called at him from the other end of the alleyway.

“What are you doing to that girl?” Someone called and Jack quickly vanished in a puff of smoke. Two young boys came running over one was wearing red and had a cup for a head while the other was wearing blue and had a mug for a head.

“Cuphead, Mugman what have I told you boys about running off like that?” An old kettle asked as he huffed and puffed from chasing after the two boys.

“Sorry Elder Kettle, but we thought we saw someone who needed help.” Mugs said as he kneeled down next to Rose who was groaning in pain. Elder Kettle quickly jumped into action and picked her up as they quickly rushed her to the hospital. For weeks Jack watched her waiting for the perfect moment when she was alone, and when that moment came, he approached her with a deal he knew she wouldn’t be able to pass up.

“What if I told you that I could tell you the location of the men that killed Dice and your brother, how would you like that Angel?” He asked holding out his hand to her, he could tell she was hesitant, that she didn’t know if she could trust him, but he also knew that revenge was a hungry beast and saw that she wanted to feed it.

“What’s the catch?” She asked him the wide grin and wandering sin eyes soon crept onto his face. 

“Follow me and I’ll show you.” He said and as soon as she slipped her hand in his they vanished into her old apartment. As rose looked around she felt her heart break as everything was still there, waiting for someone to move in and either keep everything or throw it out. She walked over to Dice’s side of the bed and ran her hand along the comforter, she hadn’t been back here since they were killed and coming back only seemed to open up the wounds she had closed.

“What do I have to do?” She asked with her back to Jack, he was silent for a moment as he followed her movements with his eyes, he’d need something to fuel her want for revenge. Sure she would hear him out and what he had to offer but she needed to be willing to do anything, even murder.

“What would you be willing to do is the better question. How far are you willing to go to avenge the people who were killed?” Jack asked her taking a look around the room himself. It was a small dingy apartment, the room was almost too small for the bed as it almost touched the walls where it was at, cracks in the paint that was faded and peeling off, a small bathroom with no door was off to the right, A simple four drawer dresser was next to the door leading out into the living room and he slowly pulled open a door and saw a little black box haphazardly hidden under some socks. Jack pulled it out and opened it. nestled in the center of the box was a simple golden ring with three amathists along the band. A note was taped to the top with the words ‘Will you marry me?’

“Are you willing to go into the depths of madness to get your revenge?” He asked as he turned around and handed her the ring box. Rose slowly took it out of his hand and looked down at it with a hand over her mouth, tears stung the corners of her eyes as she sat down on the bed. For several minutes there was silence between them and then she looked at him, rage seemed to darken her blue eyes.

“I will do anything to make those men pay for what they did.” She said in a low, almost haunting tone, and that was what he needed to hear her say. With a snap of his fingers two weapons appeared before him floating in the air before him. 

“I offer you these weapons and the location of the men you are looking for, but you must kill them. Not only kill them, you must make them suffer. This gun will never miss it’s target, you don’t even have to aim it, just think of where you want to shoot and pull the trigger.” He said as she walked over and took the gun in her hand, it was a small little pistol, the perfect size for her and it would be easy to hide in her purse.

“And this is my personal favorite.” Jack said as he looked at the knife. “This knife has the ability to pull and tear a person's soul apart when they come in contact with the blade, a painful process, or so I’m told.” he explained with a grin as Rose took it in her hand she felt something surge through her, a want for blood, a hunger for revenge.

In the weeks that followed she did as he wanted, she had found the men one by one and killed them slowly. With each one of their lives that she took, her soul was stained more and more. Standing out on a darkened street, underneath a lone street light she looked at a run down house. Chain link fences surrounded it, keep out signs were hung all over, the windows had been broken and the door was boarded shut. Circling around to the back she saw there was a hole in the side that was big enough for someone to fit through, taking a deep breath she climbed over and maged to get inside with no one seeing her. The inside was no better than the outside, a putrid odor filled her nose the moment she walked in, holes of various sizes where all over the walls, she would have hated to see how this place looking in the daylight. Carefully she made her way to the back of the house, being mindful of where she placed her feet so not to warn anyone that she was here. 

Looking into one of the rooms she saw that it looked like a childs room, pictures drawn in crayons were taped onto the wall, toys scattered across the floor, and at the far end underneath a broken window was a small bed and a lump in the center of it. Rose carefully shut the door and took a shaky breath, this monster had a child of his own, this sick bastard had a child one of the most purest things God could give us and they were living in a shit hole. She’d be doing this child a favor by killing this son of a bitch. Walking down the hallway to the next door she found who she was looking for, carefully she slipped in and shut the door behind her locking it so no one could get away. The man with the scar on his face, who she later learned was named Jacob, was passed out on the bed an empty bottle of whisky next to him. This was almost too easy, but she wasn’t going to kill him in his sleep, no that would be a mercy, he wouldn’t suffer like she wanted him to. She was standing next to the bed, her eyes grew darker as she raised the gun and fired it up in the air waking him up.

“What the fu-” Jacob had started to say but he was met with the empty whisky bottle being smashed against the side of his head shattering it on impact. Sliding off the bed gripping his head from the pain Rose quickly grabbed his arms and tied them behind his back and tied his legs together as well.

“You fucking bitch, who the hell do you think you are?” He moaned in pain, she only ignored him as she pulled out a rag and tied it around his mouth. When she was sure he wasn’t going to get away she pulled over a chair and sat in front of him, her one blue eyes now a light purple as a twisted grin rested on her face. What she didn’t know about the dagger that Jack had given her was it had the ability to bring out the darker side of a person’s heart, pulling out their inner demon, if used too much it would change that person forever with no hope of reverting back.

Jack knew that it wouldn’t affect her, for very long at least, he had to admit he was enjoying watching it taken control of her though, the madness that flowed through the dagger into her was something to behold. Hidden in the shadows of the room he waited to see what she would do this time as each one of her kills was unique and different. She still had not answered, instead she raised her hand and slapped Jacob hard across the face leaving a bright red handprint on his cheek.

“You took everything from me.” She whispered as she grabbed his chin and made him look at her, her eyes almost seemed like they were glowing. “My love, my brother, my innocents, and left me with your bastard child!” she yelled in his face, Jacob hadn’t noticed before but when he looked down he saw that she was in fact pregnant four months along at best.

“And yet I’m not worth remembering. Can’t say I’m surprised, you sleeze bags only take and take, not once ever thinking that karma will come and catch up with you. Well I’m karma, and I’m here to collect.” She said with a twisted grin as she pulled the gun back out and shot him in his knees. Jacob screamed as he felt the bullet tore through his skin, the vines on her arms started to come to life as they wrapped around his ankles breaking those as well. Jacob struggled to get away from her as she continued to break his lower body to pieces. Once she was satisfied with that she then pulled out the knife and spun it in her hand being mindful of the blade. Jacob felt his heart hammering against his ribcage, adrenaline running through his veins numbing the pain only slightly as he started to struggle against his bonds.

Rose held the dagger by it’s handle as she brought the blade closer to his face and made a slight cut. The pain was something he had never felt before, like his soul was being ripped from his body. When she pulled the blade away the pain stopped he felt like he was going to pass out and right as his eyes were about to close she shoved the knife into his shoulder pulling it out quickly, waking him back up as he screamed against the gag, hot tears were running down his face as she twisted the knife and ripped it out.

“Don’t pass out on me just yet, the fun has only just started.” She said laughing to herself. She then lifted him up from the floor, the vines on her arms keeping him up as she proceeded to remove his pants, letting them drop to the ground. 

“Oh my it seems you have a growth here in between your legs. What do you say we remove that?” She asked shaking his head like a madman he screamed at her to stop, begging her through the gag.

“What was that I couldn’t hear you? Did you say you wanted me to remove it?” She laughed as she brought the knife next to his balls and proceed to slowly cut them off. She was moving slowly, each second was a living hell for him as he screamed and screamed until his lungs were about to give out on him. When the balls finally fell to the ground Jacob was fading in and out, he could feel his blood leaking down his legs as he looked at her, his eyes pleading with her to stop.

“Do you want this to end? Do you want to finally know peace?” She asked him and he weakly nodded his head. He was tired and he wanted it to stop. Without warning she slashed his chest with ease cutting it wide open. Once again he screamed bloody murder through the gag and she did it a second time.

“So do I.” She said as she shoved the blade into his heart, killing him in an instant and letting his body hit the ground in a lifeless husk. His soul, along with his buddies souls now rested in the dagger that Jack had given her. Jack came up behind her by clapping his hands.

“Now that was a show to witness.” He said as his own wide grin rested on his face. Rose turned around taking a bow as if she had just performed on stage, her chest rising and falling like she had just run a mile, her head buzzing with excitement as she looked down at the dagger in her hand and then at her swollen stomach. Before Jack could even ask her what she was about to do she made a move to stab herself. Quickly he grabbed her hands and yanked the dagger away from her. 

“Can’t let you do that dear, boss would have my head if I let you die now.” Jack whispered, with the dagger taken away from her, her body shut down and she was asleep. He shook his head as he picked her up bridal style and they both disappeared leaving the mutilated body there to be found in the morning.

Jack had taken her back to Elder Kettle’s house and laid her on the bed that they had offered her. With no where else to go, Elder Kettle allowed her to live with him and his grandson’s thinking that the forest would be a more relaxing place to live than in the city. He quickly cleaned the blood off of her and reclaimed the weapons he had given her chuckling to himself as he saw the souls swearing around the blade of the dagger, she had done a good job and he hoped she was pleased with herself as most people who take a life, or several in her case, could leave one feeling guilty. Once he was done Jack vanished and returned to his boss who was sitting behind his desk as if he was waiting on him to return.

“She did it boss, I have the souls right here.” Jack said as he placed the dagger on the Devils desk who grinned wickedly.

“Good, now we wait for her to come to us. Once she learns that Dice is here it won’t be long before she comes to offer her soul to me.” The Devil laughed, but there was a question that kept circling in Jack’s mind and he had to know the answer.

Why have her kill those men boss, seems a little extreme.” Jack said rubbing his chin in thought. The Devil felt his grin grow bigger as his eyes seemed to light up.

“I can not accept a soul that is pure, a soul that has committed no sin willfully, Rose would never even be able to set foot in this casino. So what’s the best way to taint a pure soul?” He asked and Jack felt a light bulb go off in his head.

“You planned for this all to happen, what are you hoping to get out of this boss?” Jacked asked but the Devil held a finger to his lips.

“That you don’t need to know. Now get going, you’re far behind on your contracts after this little side trip.” The Devil said and turned away from him as Jack pouted and disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

It would be three months when the Cup brothers showed up at the casino and kick started the events that would soon follow, freeing everyone from their debt with the Devil, six months after that Elder Kettle would pass away, three months after that Rose and the cup brothers would find themselves back in the city, and three months after that they would be working in the very casino that had started it all. It seemed as if everything was coming together just like the Devil had imagined it, he knew everything that was going to take place and all the pieces were falling together and he would get what he wanted in the end, The Calix Animi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Five chapters already, this just keeps getting better and I won't lie I'm having a fun time as I go. I hope you all are liking it so far as much as I am.


	6. Helpful Words and Pasts Returned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thirteen days have come to pass and Rose has not been able to even speck to Dice, she was starting to loss hope that she ever would. When the brother notice her troubled look they think someone has been mean to her and they don't know what to do. They go to King dice and ask him to speck with her as well as giving him some more detail about her past. Thinking he was too quick to judge he agrees and meets with her.

**~Thirteen days later, One day remaining~**

It had been thirteen days since Rose started working at the casino and she had been a big help in bringing in revenue for the casino. Men from all over Inkwell had come to hear her sing and that meant more people came to gamble and drink. She had to admit it was enjoyable, getting to do what she loved more than anything, but she still wasn’t happy. thirteen days since she made the deal and she has yet to even get close to Dice, any time she would try to talk with him, he would be locked away inside his office refusing to see anyone. When he was out of the office she was on stage singing, though she could have sworn he would stop for a moment and watch but any time she caught him he’d be going back and doing his job keeping his back towards her. She was starting to lose hope that she would ever get a chance to talk with him and help him remember who she was, but she couldn’t afford to think like that. She looked at herself in the vanity mirror that was backstage adding the final touch of makeup and then looked herself over with a smile. Tonight she was wearing an emerald green dress that went all the way down to the floor, rhinestones were heavily clustered around the top of the dress and faded down the length of the skirt for the sleeves, or well sleeve was a light green fishnet material while her right arm was bear, her engagement ring hung around her neck like always. She turned her head when there was a knock on the door.

“Miss.Thorn, you’re on in five minutes.” Mugman called from behind the door and she only laughed. 

“I’m all finished you can come in Mugs.” She called and he slowly opened the door, as to be expected Cuphead wasn’t far behind as the two boys walked in. 

“Oh wow, Rose you look beautiful.” Mugs said as she spun around for the boys.

“Yeah Rose you look like a million big ones.” Cups added as a light blush formed on his cheeks. Rose laughed and gathered them in her arms giving them a tight hug. 

“You boys are very sweet. How’s it looking out there tonight?” She asked though she already knew the answer it gave her something to think about other then trying to think of how she was going to speak with Dice.

“Another full house, even the boss is out in the crowd tonight.” Cups said with a grin on his face and excitement in his eyes, Rose tried to return the excitement but it didn’t reach her eyes and the brothers saw this.

“Rose you feeling alright? You really haven’t seemed like yourself since you started working here with us.” Mugs said as he held her hand.

“Yeah, is it something we can help with? Has someone been mean to you?” Cups asked taking her other hand in his, she shook her head and smiled at them. Ever since she lived with them and Elder Kettle they have become like her brothers, always wanting to protect her and make her smile anyway that they can, and she loved them for that.

“No no, no one has been mean to me or upset me. Well okay, one has but I’m not going to hold it against him.” She said and both the brothers looked like they were ready to throttle someone.

“Who was it Rose, we’ll show them what for.” Cups said

“Yeah no one messes with our sister and gets away with it.” Mugs added. Rose felt her heat swell up as she hugged them.

“You guys are the best, but I’ll not having you start a fight on my account, now let's go, don’t want to keep everyone waiting.” She said as she pulled them along backstage till she reached the curtains. They were able to calm down a little but they still didn’t like the idea that someone was mean to Rose, she was such a sweet girl who has been through enough hardship.

“I’ll see you boys after the show, try not to get in trouble.” She smiled as she walked out on stage.

“I don’t like that someone’s been mean to Rose.” Mugs said as he watched her wave to the crowd and taking her bows.

“Yeah but she won’t tell us who it was.” Cups raid as he rubbed his chin in thought, then with a snap of his fingers he thought of a way they could find out.

“Come on mugs follow me.” Cups said as he ran off towards the lobby looking for the one person who could get anyone to open up.

“King Dice!” He called and ran up to him. He looked over at the brothers as they came running up to him.

“What is it boys, don’t you have a show to maintain?” he asked with a less than thrilled tone as he was being disturbed from his table.

“Mr. King Dice we’d like to talk to you, Privately.” Mugs said seeming to understand what cups was getting at.

“Can it wait till after hours?” Dice asked not looking at them.

“Sorry sir, but it really can’t.” Cups said and saw Dice take a deep breath calming his frustration down. The boys hardly ever pulled him away from work unless it was major.

“Wheezy, watch this table while I go have a chat with these two.” Dice called and waved the boys to follow him back to his office. “Now what seems to be the problem boys that you had to pull me away from the floor?” Dice asked as he leaned against the edge of his desk which seemed to be more cluttered then normal.

“Well sir it’s bout Miss.Thorn, we have reason to believe that she's being treated poorly by someone here in the casino, but she won’t tell us by who.” Mugman started and Dice felt his head perk up, it wasn’t like the boys to be overly concerned with one of their coworkers, sure they got along with everyone for the most part but they never out right worried that someone was giving them a hard time, so what were they worried for her?

“And what has you boys worried for Miss. Thorn she seems capable enough to handle her own problems.” Dice said crossing his arms.

“Well sir, she’s like a sister to us. She’s lived with us for the better part of a year, and well before then she had some really bad stuff happen to her. So we want to make sure that nothing like that happens again.” Cuphead explained, Dice was really curious now, had the Devil lied to him about Rose, what had she gone through that made the brothers so protective over her?

“What do you mean?” He asked without even thinking and the brothers looked at one another, trying to figure out if they should tell him or not, would Rose be mad at them for sharing such a sensitive part of her life with their boss? At the same time though, they wanted to know if Dice could help her in feeling more welcomed to the family. With a nod of their heads they looked back to the King who had his arms crossed as he waited for them to continue.

“You see sir, when we met Rose she was in an alleyway in Inkwell city looking pretty beat up. Elder Kettle had us rushing her to the hospital so that she wouldn’t die out in the cold.” Mugs started the story.

“When she finally woke up we were told to leave the room so that the doctor could talk with her but Mugs and I hung by the door to listen. She had been attacked and violated, along with seeing her brother being killed right in front of her. She never went into much detail about it all but it seemed to really mess her up to the point she’d keep herself locked away in her room and hardly eat anything.” Cuphead continued and Dice felt his heart lerch against his ribs knowing the meaning behind their words. She was raped and left for dead, it was common in the city that much he knew and each story was heartbreaking sure, but this seemed to affect him more.

“And we think she lost someone else too. Some nights we would sit outside her door and she would cry saying that ‘no one could replace him’” Mugs added Dice nodded his head and turned away from the boys placing his hands behind his back.

“Very well boys, after the show I’ll have a word with Miss. Thorn and get to the bottom of this.” He said almost grateful that she hadn’t told the brothers that he was the one who hurt her. “Now get back out there.” He ordered and the boys nodded quickly leaving his office leaving him on his own again to process what he was told.

“Seems I might have been too quick to judge our new singer, maybe I should talk with her.” Dice said to himself and walked back out into the lobby where her voice reached his ears and pulled his attention to the stage.

**“When I was younger**

**I saw my daddy cry**

**And curse at the wind**

**He broke his own heart**

**And I watched**

**As he tried to reassemble it**

**And my momma swore**

**That she would never let herself forget**

**And that was the day that I promised**

**I’d never sing of love**

**If it does not exist, but darlin’**

**You are, the only exception**

**You are, the only exception**

**You are, the only exception**

**You are, the only exception**

**Maybe I know, somewhere**

**Deep in my soul**

**The love never lasts**

**And we’ve got to find other ways**

**To make it alone**

**But keep a straight face”**

Dice felt a smile tugged at his lips as he watched her, she was a beauty on the stage, and when she sung there was so much passion in her words and movements. A true sirin given form and he was pulled under her spell once again. For someone who’s gone through such hardships, she never showed it on the outside.

**“And I’ve always lived like this**

**Keeping comfortable, distance**

**And up until now**

**I had sworn to myself that I’m content**

**With loneliness**

**Because none of it was ever worth the risk**

**But, you are, the only exception**

**You are, the only exception**

**You are, the only exception**

**You are, the only exception**

**I’ve got a tight grip on reality**

**But I can’t let go of what’s in front of me here**

**I know your leaving in the morning, when you wake up**

**Leave me with some kind of proof it’s not a dream, oh**

**You are, the only exception (x8)**

**And I’m on my way to believing**

**Oh, and I’m on my way to believing.”**

Once again the crowd went wild as Rose stepped off to the side and took her bows blowing kisses to her audience. Flowers where thrown on the stage and once she walked off people started making their way home, slowly he Casino was quite as the last patrion walked out and the door was locked. Everyone soon gathered at the bar to celebrate the night, even though she hadn’t been there long, she had already started to make friends with everyone who worked there, even her and Mr. Wheezy had grown close as he treated her like a daughter and was always looking out for her and giving her advice on pretty much anything.

“Once again another successful night if I do say so myself.” Phear Lap said as he raised his glass in the air, the others joined in as they raised their glasses and talked about the events that took place and shared their stories. Rose listened with a smile when she felt someone take the seat next to her.

“Job well done as always Rose.” Jack said as he took a sip from his drink, flashing her a smile.

Rose smiled back as he took a sip from her wine, out of everyone who worked at the casino, her and Jack were the closest, though she knew so little about him. She noticed though every time he was around her the others would take a few steps away and she could never figure out why. Sure there was something sinister about him, and he was a mystery to her but something told her she didn’t want to press him for answers, maybe Dice or the Devil would have some answers about him.

“So have you managed to come up with a plan on how to get Dice to talk to you?” He asked with a crazy grin, Rose only smiled and held a finger to her lips.

“Ah but telling would be showing my hand too early, and we can’t have that now can we?” She asked and he pulled out a cigar lighting it up.

“Or else you’ll be the victim of the gambling table.” Jack said with cigar in hand after a long drag, a gloom cast from the smoke of his cigar filled the room as he leaned back into his chair. “But you know what they say, in this casino the House always wins, be it money, your fame, or your very life. Just imagine the many people whom came through those doors and how many came back out, but you Rose...you’re the exception to that rule.” Jack said seeming lost in his own head for a moment as he was talking. Rose felt the weight of his words and it seemed like he knew something that he wasn’t telling her. Before she could ask though the cup brothers came up to her, casting nervous glances at Jack.

“Rose, we’re sorry to bother you but King Dice has asked to see you in his office.” Mugs said as he looked the most nervous.

“Yeah he said it was important and he needed to see you right away.” Cups added as he took her hand and lightly pulled her to her feet. Rose felt her stomach turn into knots as the brothers pulled her to the back of the casino, and to a set of large doors that lead to Dice’s office as the brothers pushed her to the door and knocked a voice on the other side granted them permission to enter. She looked back at the brothers and they gave her a confident nod as they gave her a slight push. Taking a deep breath she opened the door and walked inside as the doors closed behind her.

Dice was sitting at his desk rubbing his tired eyes as soul contracts scattered his desk, almost looking like they were going to spill over if one more was added to the pile. For someone who was always well kept, his desk screamed the opposite, Rose stood by the door as she tried to find the right words to sayWhen Dice looked up for a second she had shorter hair that was curled at the ends and her bangs were covering her left eye. Shaking his head the image vanished and Rose was standing there looking more nervous than ever.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” He commented as he waved her closer, she slowly walked over to him and took a seat on one of the plush chairs that sat in front of his desk.

“And you look like you haven’t slept in weeks.” She said, surprised when he chuckled.

“No I guess I haven’t, even more so since you came to work here thirteen nights ago. He said as he looked at her, his onyx orbs burning into her sappier blue ones. “But it has come to my attention that someone has been, rather unfair to you.” King Dice said and right as she opened her mouth to say something he held up his hand.

“The brothers told me, they were worried about you, and I know it was I who was unfair to you. I’m happy that you did not mention my name as I don’t think I could handle another beat down from them.” He smiled as if he was just told a joke. “But I wanted to apologize to you for how I acted, I was given some information about you that I now believe was false and would like to know more about you.” Dice explained and Rose was at a loss for words. Was she hearing this right, was he actually apologizing for how he acted thriteen days ago? Hearing this gave her some kind of hope as a smile grew on her face.

“Well I’m sorry you were fed misinformation, and I’d be more than happy to talk with you some more.” She said as a light blush formed on her cheeks, his cheeks turned a light purple at her words and waved over at the couch that sat in front of a fireplace. She nodded her head and stood up walking with him as they sat down together, at first it was silent, the crackling fire filling the room with noise. Finally Dice took a deep breath and looked over at her, she had been watching him and it was like he had never changed, he was still just as handsome and he could still make her heart flutter like no one else.

“So what can you tell me about yourself?’’ Dice asked not really sure how to start off this kind of conversation. Rose seemed to snap out of her trance as she thought for a moment. It was funny that she had to re introduce herself to someone she’s known for over two years but it was better than nothing.

“Well let’s see. I had a relatively normal upbringing. Two parents and my brother Joshua, we lived in a small house on the edge of Inkwell forest, when we were old enough we moved into the city and my brother started a band while I was a waitress in a little diner. One night my brother asked me to sing with his band and when I did everyone seemed to enjoy it and I joined him.” She said not really going into much detail, if anything she was cliftnoting her life which Dice thought was odd at first. 

“What happened to them, your family I mean?” Dice asked and Rose felt her face grew pale as she thought of what happened to her brother that night that everything went wrong. Taking a deep breath she calmed her nerves and looked at the fire seeming to get lost in thought.

“My...my brother was killed by some men who weren’t too happy with him. The man I loved was in some debt with them and when they tried to force me to stay my brother stepped in and saved me. Not long after they caught up to us and…” Rose cut herself off as she felt tears run down her face. Dice pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her. She said a small thank you and patted her eyes dry as she took a shaky breath. 

“The brothers and their grandfather took me in and they’ve been my family ever since. When the boys started working here they couldn’t get me here fast enough so that I could sing and well you know the rest.” She said handing him back the handkerchief which he took looking at her with sad eyes.

“There is more though isn’t there?” he asked her and she nodded her head with a smile on her face. 

“I figured the boys had told you the story. Yes I was rapped, and lost someone special to me, besides my brother that is, I was never the same after.” She said now keeping her eyes away from Dice as she kept looking into the fire. Questions swarmed in Dices head the name Joshua was already ringing in his ears pulling at a distant memory of a young man in his late 20’s with a clean haircut and a nice suit flashed in his head. He tried to ignore it at first but the more he tried the stronger the image became. It was then that he saw the ring that was hanging around her neck.

“Were you married?” Dice asked before he could stop himself and she looked at him as if her eyes were pleading with him to do something, but when he didn’t move she reached up and placed her hand over the ring lightly rubbing it between her fingers.

“No, to be fair I was never engaged. He never got a chance to ask before he was killed.” She said and was surprised when Dice moved closer to her and placed his hand over hers.

“You’ve been through more than any one person, and it has made you stronger. I am sorry that your life hasn’t been easier for you. I hope you can also forgive me for how I treated you.” Dice said softly as he made her look at him. Rose smiled as she placed a hand on his cheek a dusty shade of purple covered his cheeks as he leaned into her touch. It was such a familiar feeling and he was enjoying it very much, all too soon the moment ended and she pulled away.

“Well what do you say I stay and help you sort through these contracts?” She asked and he smiled at her.

“I’d like that very much.”

For the rest of the night they sorted and put away the contracts that were on his desk, they had made small talk by asking each their dreams and hobbies, likes and dislikes. When they had finally finished the sun was just starting to come up and Rose was asleep on the couch a peaceful smile on her face. Dice walked over and placed a blanket around her as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. Before he walked away he saw the ring again and reached down turning it so that he could see it better and his head suddenly started hurting as a memory played before him.

_“She’s going to love it Dice, simple but meaningful.” Joshua said as he and Dice were standing in a jewelry store, Dice was grinning as he looked at the simple gold band with three amethyst nestled along it._

_“I hope you’re right, I want nothing but the best for Rose.”_

Dice gasped as he let the ring go and he stepped back from her, his hands shaking as everything came back to him at once.

“My Rose…” He whispered and then something hit him in the back of his head knocking him out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is the second to last chapter for this story I'm actually planing on a second book to this. Anyway I hope you all are enjoying it so far and I hope that I can continue to keep you all throughout the rest of this story and the second. 
> 
> Things I don't own still:  
> Jack  
> Cuphead  
> Song: You are the only exception by Paramore


	7. Live to Fight Another Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Dice remembers everything he is no longer useful to the Devil, not like it mattered to begin with as he already had what he wanted. It seems like there is no hope for King Dice anymore, that is until two cups set him free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I decided to add one more chapter after this one, I know I know I said that this was going to be the last chapter but I didn't want to make it too long and leave you guys bored or getting lost as to what was going on. So after this chapter there will be one more and then it'll be on to the second book. It feels nice that I'm actually going to finish writing something again and I want to thank everyone who has taken a second to read it up to this point. You all have been amazing!
> 
> Things I don't own  
> Jack  
> Cuphead  
> Song: You're only second rate from Aladdin the return of Jafar

**~Outside of Dice’s office at the bar~**

Jack watched as the brothers pulled Rose away from the bar and headed to Dice’s office. Once they were far enough away Jack finished his drink and got up from the bar and made his way to the other end of the casino and down a darkened hallway. The lights from the casino vanished as the walls were lined with torches and the bright colors seemed to dull down the farther he walked. After a few moments he came to a large set of double doors that held golden trim on them. He tried to open the door and found that they were locked, no surprise there, with a wave of his hand he summoned a skeleton key and slipped it into the lock carefully opening the doors. As he slipped inside he had to wait and let his eyes adjust to the darkness that engulfed him, painful memories tried to unearth themselves from his mind to which he had to shove them back down, he was not going to revert to that...thing he once was. Taking a few deep breaths he walked farther in till he could just make out the outline of a large desk that sat in the middle of the room, fishing his lighter from his pocket and bright it to the lone candle that sat at the left hand corner of the desk so that he could have some light. 

The desk was a deep dark oak that had a nice neat stack of soul contracts to the right and a rather large feather ink pen and inkwell on the top middle of the desk. Jack took a seat on the rather large chair and opened up a few drawers quickly skimming through some files until he found the one he was looking for simply titled ‘K.D’.Leaning back and flipping open then folder he was surprised to see there was a lot more in there than just his soul contract. Pictures spilled out and landed on the desk in front of him, there were some of Dice when he was working at the other casino and others of him and Rose with her face circled in red ink.

_ ‘Now why would the boss be interested in her before he took Dice?’ _ Jack thought to himself as he quickly looked back in the drawer and found a folder titled ‘R.T’ pulling that out it was also filled with pictures of her and notes scribbled on them in a language that he couldn’t read, and where as he only had a few pictures of Dice, there was a considerable amount of pictures of Rose. The only word he could really make out among the scribbles was ‘Calix Animi’. This really peaked Jack’s interest as he had heard that name before. It was an ancient group, almost as old as the Devil himself if not older, but they were said to have died out a long time ago, no one knows why, or even what happened to them. It was like they simply vanished into thin air only a legend left behind, so why would Rose have that name around her? Could it be that she was somehow connected to them, was she maybe a descendant like the cup brothers were, if she was, why would the Devil be going after her? 

Grabbing the two files he got up and blow the candle out as he made his way farther back to the office where a roaring fire seemed to sit in the middle of the room. It was the only thing that could burn a soul contract, Jack looked down at Dice’s contract and held it over the flames as he took a deep breath knowing that if he was caught, there was no telling what would happen to him. Just as he let it fall into the flames a large hand took hold of his wrist and spun him around to come face to face with the Devil. His yellow eyes held a slow burning rage to them as a twisted smirk rested on his lips, Jack could hear his heart in his ears as he seemed trapped under the Devils gaze. He had fucked up, he was caught, and there was no telling what was going to happen to him next. In truth the Devil had been watching him the whole time, he knew what he was planning, but it didn’t matter he had what he wanted, Rose was going to belong to him as soon as morning came. Still it didn’t change the fact that Jack had gone behind his back and betrayed him for the sake of his ‘friends’.

“Did you really think you could get away with something like this Jack? That you’d get out of here and I wouldn’t notice that two very important soul contracts were missing?” The Devil asked calmly, so calmly it sent a shiver up Jacks spine.

“To be fair boss, I thought I could get away with it.” He said with a shaky voice as he held onto the files as if his very life depended on it, and in some ways it did.

“Tch tch tch.” the Devil said with a wave of his finger as if he was just scolding a child for doing something they knew they weren’t supposed to. “You know better then to try and double cross me.” He said and with a wave of his hand Jack’s very own contract appeared before him and he felt his blood run cold.

“Seems I have to teach you a lesson. Such a shame though, you had such potential it will be a shame to lose someone of your talent.” he said as the contract burst into flames and he released Jack.

Jack could hear his heart pick up speed as he slowly lost himself to a more feral state of being. The right side of his face began to slowly slip off in a mess of black ink, his jacket which was one neat and clean became tattered and worn, the soul he collects had started to emerge themselves from his chest like they were going to burst out at any second. Falling to the ground he gripped his head as it started to become hazy and replaced with a need to kill, as he pulled his hands away they were both black claws that were as sharp as knives, cracks started to form around his neck and his smile became unnaturally wide and sinister, and his eyes turned to a clouded gray as he lost the ability to see anything, highlighting his other senses. Quickly chains came up from the ground as they wrapped around Jacks arms and legs keeping him in place.

“I’ll deal with you later, I have to go take care of a few things first.” The Devil said as he walked out of his office leaving the now feral creature there in the darkness.

  
  


**~Somewhere deep in the casino~**

It was warm, almost too warm for his liking, his head was hurting, what had happened? Dice remembered he was in his office working on the soul contracts and then it hit him he was with Rose, his Rose the memories came flooding back to him all at once again. He had been shot, the Devil allowed him to live if he sold him his soul and he worked in the Devil’s Casino for nearly two years. He found the brothers and lost and then they came back wanting to work at the casino themselves, and they brought Rose. Dice felt his heart pick up speed as he looked around the room for his gal, his hearts one true love. At first he felt relieved that she wasn’t here with him but then his blood ran cold when he heard a dark chuckle behind him, and when he turned around to see who it was and he thought his heart would stop all together.

“Glad to see you’re finally awake Dice, damn near thought I killed you with that blow to your head.” The Devil said as he was leaning against a wall, the only light that was in the room was the matched he ignited against the wall to light up his cigar. Dice made a fist as he held his ground.

“Good evening sir, might I ask as to why you have me in one of the lower cells of the casino?” Dice asked trying to steady his voice. The Devil took a while to answer as he took a long drag from his cigar, the light glow from the embers seemed to make him even more sinister, if that was even possible.

“It seems that you’re little friend, Jack, couldn’t learn to keep his hands out of the bosses desk. He destroyed your contract with me, not like it matters as I already have what I want.” the Devil chuckled as he waved his hand and a spotlight shown on a figure lying in the middle of the floor. It took a moment for Dice’s eyes to adjust but once he did he say that it was Rose and she was in chains.

“Rose!” Dice called out as he rushed over to her but when he got there he couldn’t grab her, like she wasn’t really there. The vision of her seemed to hear something as she lifted herself from the floor and saw the Devil, or rather another version of him walk over to her. He was saying something but no sound came from either of them, she looked tired and weak like she hadn’t been sleeping. 

“What have you done with her?” Dice growled as he felt a rage slowly burning within him as he turned away from what he was being shown, but what he saw chilled him to his core. The Devil’s grin was wide as his eyes were slanted.

“Oh I haven’t done anything to her...yet. Oh but what I plan to do with your dear flower, I make what she’s already been through seem like child's play to what I will do. Break her until she’ll do whatever I want without question.” he laughed and Dice felt like he was going to be sick as he recalled what the brothers had told him.

“I won’t let you touch her!” Dice yelled as he made a fist, his hands were shaking from the rage that swelled back up in his chest. “I swear I’ll...:”

“You’ll what? Rip me limb from limb, beat me within an inch of my life, kill me? Learn your place boy, you could hardly handle two children what makes you believe you can take me on?” The Devil laughed as he walked over to Dice seeming to grow taller with each step.

**“** **I must admit,**

**Your parlor tricks are amusing**

**I bet you've got a bunny**

**Under your hat!**

**Now here's your chance**

**To get the best of me,**

**Hope your hand is hot!**

**C'mon, clown,**

**Let's see what you've got!”**

The Devil started to sing as he picked Dice up by the back of his jacket swinging him around the room as e threw him against a wall. He quickly pulled himself up as he gave a whistle and summoned his cards to attack the Devil. Dice’s eyes were damn near glowing neon green as he called forth as many as he could, even turning different types of dice into projectiles.

**“You try to slam me with your hardest stuff**

**But your double whammy**

**Isn't up to snuff**

**I'll set the record straight**

**You're simply out of date**

**You're only second rate!**

**You think your cat's a meanine,**

**But your tiger's tame**

**You've got a lot to learn**

**About the Devil’s game**

**So for your information,**

**I'll reiterate**

**You're only second rate!”**

The Devil laughed as he batted away each of Dice’s attacks as if they were nothing but flies buzzing around his head. He then loomed over Dice seeming to shrink him down to size till he was almost no bigger than an ant and was being held in the palm of the Devil.

  
  


**“Men cower at the power**

**In my pinky**

**My thumb is number one**

**On every list**

**But if you're not convinced**

**That I'm invincible,**

**Put me to the test!**

**I'd love to lay this rivalry to rest!”**

Dice was returned to normal size as he called even more cards to aid him in this fight but he found that he was getting tired, he was putting his all into this fight and the Devil didn’t even seem fazed by any of his attacks. There had to be something he could do, even the Devil was beaten by those children so he wasn’t all powerful as he liked others to believe. Everything has a weak spot, so where was his?

  
  


**“Go ahead and zap me**

**With the big surprise**

**Snap me in a trap,**

**Cut me down to size**

**I'll make a great escape**

**It's just a piece of cake**

**You're only second rate!**

**You know, your hocus-pocus**

**Isn't tough enough**

**And your mumbo-jumbo**

**Doesn't measure up**

**Let me pontificate**

**Upon your sorry state**

**You're only second rate!”**

Again the Devil bashed away each of his attacks, he was hardly making a dent and he was slowly losing his strength to continue fighting there was one other attack he could try but it very well might kill him in this state, but there was really no other choice, it was either try and gain the upper hand or Rose was going to be in danger. 

“ **Zaba-caba-dabra!**

**Granny's gonna grab ya!**

**Alakazam-da-mus**

**And this thing's bigger than the both of us!**

**So spare me your tremendous scare!**

**You look horrendous in your underwear!**

**And I can hardly wait**

**To discombobulate**

**I'll send ya back and packing**

**In a shipping crate**

**You'll make a better living**

**With a spinning plate**

**You're only second rate!”**

Taking a deep breath he pulled out the four ace cards and had them grow to his height and circle around him like a shield. While he was protected he pulled out a rose red dice and started to make it grow until it was nearly the same size as the Devil and he threw it right at him, hitting him in the chest knocking the air out of the Devil, or so he thought as he felt someone tap him on his shoulder. The Devil was standing there, unharmed and looking rather bored.

“Enough games Dice, you’ll never compare to my power, you’ve lost. And just so you don’t cause any trouble, you’ll rot in this cell.” The devil said as he started to walk away, Dice tried to follow after him but his feet felt like the were glued to the ground, holding him in place.

“It really is a shame to lose such talented men, both you and Jack could have gone far in this business, but you had to let love and friendship cloud your mind. Now look where that’s gotten you, locked away never to see the light of day ever again. I hope it was worth it.” The Devil said as he walked out of the door that lead into this cell leaving Dice all alone panting wildly. He was able to move his feet again as he rushed to the door kicking and pounding on it with his fists, screaming for anyone to let him out. He screamed for such a long time, or what felt like a long time at least, until he couldn’t scream anymore and he just started sobbing. Once again Rose was in danger because of him, and there was no way for him to save her, hadn’t she been through enough already?

Dice felt himself lean against the door as he slid down to the ground bringing his knees to his chest. He had lost, there was nothing he could do, so why keep him alive? Was it just to torcher him with the thought that Rose was going to be hurt and there was nothing he could do, or was there another reason? It’s not like it mattered, he had lost, and he was tired of trying to be a better man, it never seemed to get him anywhere. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, but before long he felt his eyes close as he slipped away into sleep.

**~Dice’s dream~**

_ Dice was sitting on the back stage, it was late into the evening and everyone else had turned in for the night. His eyes were bloodshot due to the lack of sleep he had gotten. The dreams had somehow gotten more real, to the point where he was waking up in a cold sweat and unable to go back to sleep, tonight was such a night. He poured himself another glass of bourbon and brought the cool glass to his forehead trying to sooth an on coming headache.  _

_ “You know, there’s no need to hide when everyone else is asleep, you could sit somewhere more comfortable.” Jack said as he took a seat next to Dice who was internally groaning, he was not in the mood for this tonight, but before he could even say anything Jack grabbed the bottle of bourbon and a glass and poured himself a drink not saying another word. For a moment there was a peaceful silents between the two of them, which was strange for him. Dice looked over to see Jack staring at his drink, mindlessly spinning it around slowly. _

_ “You know Dice, you have the chance at being with someone, a true soulmate, not everyone gets a chance like that.” he said with melancholy as he sat the glass down looking at his reflection in the bourbon, almost seeming like he was trying to find the meaning of life. “I mean...look at me...I’ve got the Baroness, a good job, all of you. I’m fine but...I’m not happy...I’m not happy at all.” Tears of black ink started to roll down his cheeks as he quickly tried to wipe them away. “I’m not happy always being a monster all the time, the man I am now, almost a shadow or a shell of what I want to be.” Jack finished as he took a huge gulp of his drink. _

_ Dice was at a loss for words, it wasn’t very often that Jack opened up to him, he wasn’t really sure how to handle it. Not knowing what else to do he reached over and lightly placed a hand on his shoulder giving it a comforting squeeze Jack looked over at him and gave an actual, genuine smile which Dice only half returned still feeling awkward about this sudden heart to heart they were having. Both men returned to their drinks and continued to sit there for a moment longer when Jack stood up and stretched.  _

_ “Well, I’m going to head back to bed, you should think about getting some sleep too...King.” Jack said as he walked off with his hands in his pockets. Dice sat there with a look of shock when he was called by his name and not one of his many nicknames. “Oh and one more thing.” Jack said as he looked over his shoulder. ”Don’t give up on finding that special someone, she might be closer than you think” And with that he disappeared in a puff of black smock leaving Dice to his thoughts. _

**~Dream ends~**

Dice felt himself wake up when he heard the sound of jingling keys coming from outside the door he was leaning against

“Come on mugs hurry up will you?” Cuphead whispered to his brother as they stood outside Dice’s cell.

“I’d like to see you try and find the right key in this mess, there must be hundreds at least.” Mugman argued as he slipped a key in the lock and it opened the door. Dice jumped up before they opened the door and he never felt so relieved to see the two brothers there in front of him. When the light shined on Dice, the brothers looks of excitement turned to looks of horror. Dice’s coat was torn to shreds, his head was slightly cracked from where he hit the wall during his fight, and he looked like he was going to fall over at any moment.

“Mr. Dice what the hell happened to you?” Cups asked as he ran over to him and threw Dice’s arm around his shoulder. Dice tried to smile it off and chuckle but it came out more as a cough.

“Bit off a little more than I could chew. How did you guys find me anyway?” Dice asked as he leaned against Cups for support.

“We’ll have to explain when we get somewhere safe, but right now we gotta get you out of here before the boss realizes we stole his keys.” Mugs said as he went to Dice’s other side and they started for the door.

“Wait, what about Rose?” Dice asked as he tried to stand on his own but his legs gave out a little and the brothers caught him continuing to get to the back door before anyone saw them.

“We’ll come back for her but we gotta get you out of here.” Cups said as the resched the door and made it outside, the sight of the sun nearly blinded Dice causing him to shield his eyes for a moment so they could adjust. Once he was able to see he and the Cup brothers took off, never looking back as they ran for the first isle and to the home of Elder Kettle.

_ ‘Just hold on for me Rose, I’ll be back to save you.’  _ Dice thought as they crossed the first Die House.


	8. Monsters and Soul Cards

**~Inside The Devil’s Office~**

_ The Calix Animi, an ancient society that had been here long before anyone could remember. They were split into three classes, as the legend goes, the first class was a mixture of chalices, cups, urns, and vases they were said to be warriors, healers, and alchemists. The second class was a mixture of different kinds of flatware knives, spoons, forks, and plates they were a type of warrior class but nothing much else, and they really didn’t do that much fighting as they never saw the need to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. The third class was a group of humanoids who were said to be teachers, and had a way with magic. The first and third class were able to work together and have a mutual respect for one another, where as the second class disliked both those classes as they felt that they were more deserving of the power that both classes held. _

_ Over time their jealousy grew and grew until one night, they decided to do something about it, and called forth Lucifer himself to make a deal, kill the other two classes so they were the ones left and they would grant him the very same power they soat after, once they had the power they sought. Little did they know that they would be double crossed, but what can you expect from the devil himself? Soon the third class was destroyed not able to face off against the power of the Devil, the only one who survived was a baby girl who had vines on her arms that grew little roses who would later grow up to be Rosemary Thorn. The first class did their best to hold off the demons and protect their loved ones but one by one they were overpowered and started to die out. To continue on the Legendary Chalice, and Elder Kettle fled into the woods with the cup brothers and little Rose. With the job only being half done the second class insulted the devil and well, he showed them just what he could do, killing all of them off and taking the power for his own. Unable to return to hell because the deal was unfulfilled, the Devil found himself trapped in Inkwell, figuring he could still do his job he built the casino and started collecting souls that way. Which leads us to where we are now. _

“In fact I do remember you, as the person who tried to kill me all those years ago!” ‘Dice yelled at Rose who stood there with her mouth hanging open as she watched him walk out of the room, leaving her alone with the Devil. He had said she was the one who killed him, but that wasn’t true, she loved him she wanted to be with him and him alone, it had nearly killed her when she lost him all those years ago. She slowly turned her head to the Devil as he sat there with a twisted smirk on his face, he had done this, he had twisted the rules so that she would lose, she was never going to win.

The Devil could hardly contain his glee as he watched what was playing before him, Rose was standing there with her mouth hanging open as ‘Dice’ was as cold as ever towards her and then leaving her the process it all.One thing that was to his advantage after he destroyed Jack’s contract was that the souls he took into his form were more easily accessible and the Devil could form them into his own puppets to look and sound like anyone he wanted, and he took full advantage of it making copies of Dice and even the brothers, though the brothers looked more like the demons they would have turned into had they just given him those soul contracts all those years ago. 

“Ah I see it’s finally clicking in your head.” the Devil whispered as if he could read her mind, he could see the anger in her eyes.

“Why even make the contract with me if there was no way for me to succeed, why waste two weeks when you could have just kept me trapped here?!” She yelled as hot tears rolled down her cheeks, the Devil only laughed and she made a move to attack him as the vines around her arms came to life and made a b-line for him till they were cut off. WHen she saw it her blood ran cold through her veins, Cuphead and Mugman stood on either side of the Devil like they had been there the whole time, but they looked different, they were more twisted and demonic looking.

“Cups….Mugs?” She whispered as she took a step back. Cuphead took the Devil’s pitchfork and charged at her slamming her against the wall as the pitchfork plunged into the wall keeping her arm pinned, a sickening grin rested on his face as he looked her in the eyes. His had become a sickening yellow color where it was supposed to be white, and his red eyes seemed to glow just like Dice’s had when he was upset or planing something sleazy, red horns had emerged from the side of his head, gold rings rested on his straw.

“Poor little Rose, all alone in the world with no one left to care for her, not a friend in the world.” Cuphead had laughed at her, his voice was twisted and mocking showing off his razor sharp teeth.

“This-this isn’t real, you’re not real.” Rose cried as she looked at who she considered her family. He took his claw like hand and was able to hold her whole face, his nails digging into her cheeks.

“Does this feel fake to you? This isn’t some dream you can wake up from, no this is real life, my dear” he chuckled as he turned her face to the side dragging his tongue up the length of her neck. SHe had somehow managed to push him off of her as she tried to make a run for the door when Mugman stood in front of her, grabbing her by her shoulders squeezing them painfully.

“Why ya runnin’ Rosie, don’t ya want to play with us?” Mugman asked in the same twisted voice as Cuphead. Rose tried to get away from him, she needed to get away, but he wouldn’t let her go as he picked her up and threw her back in front of the Devil who was standing at the front of his desk and the brothers stood on either side of him as the room started to go dark around them.

**Welcome to the end of eras**

**Ice has melted back to life**

**Done my time and served my sentence**

**Dress me up and watch me die**

**If it feels good, tastes good**

**It must be mine**

**Dynasty decapitated**

**You just might see a ghost tonight**

**And if you don’t know now you know.**

Cuphead grabbed Rose’s chin as he lifted her off the ground without effort as his red eyes seemed to look into her soul, slowly the shadows engulfed him and she was standing on her feet unable to see anything in front of her as she reached out trying to find a wall or even a door to get out. When her hands finally touched something her heart went to her throat, it was soft black fur and the Devil appeared in front of her a bloodied crown resting on his head.

**I’m taking back the crown**

**I’m all dressed up and naked**

**I see what’s mine and take it (Finders keepers, losers weepers)**

**Oh yeah**

**The crown**

**So close I can taste itI see what’s mine and take it (Finders keepers, losers weepers)**

**Oh yeah**

**Sycophants on velvet sofas**

**Lavish mansions, vintage wine**

**I am so much more than royal**

**Snatch your chain and mace your eyes**

**If it feels good, tastes good**

**It must be mine**

**Heroes always get remembered**

**But you know legends never die**

**And if you don’t know now you know**

The Devil reached out to her and something seemed to be pulled from her, a light shone from her chest as it started to leave her body and she quickly realized it was her soul. She turned away from him and quickly vanished in the darkness running blindly until she ran into the demonic version of Mugman who turned around and looked at her with a wide twisted grin. When she turned to run he grabbed her by her hair and pulled her back pressing her against a wall placing his right clawed hand as he forced her to turn her head as he pressed it against the wall while his left hand held her right hand. She could feel his warm breath wash over her neck as he leaned in really close, something seemed to flash in his deep blue eyes and it scared her as she had no idea what he was thinking. Without warning he spun her back into the darkness and she was lost once again, the Devil’s dark chuckling seeming to surround her.

**I’m taking back the crown**

**I’m all dressed up and naked**

**I see what’s mine and take it (Finders keepers losers weepers)**

**Oh yeah**

**The crown**

**I’m so close I can taste it**

**I see what’s mine and take it (Finders keepers losers weepers)**

**Oh yeah**

**Mortal kings are ruling castles**

**Welcome to my world of fun**

**Liars settle into sockets**

**Flip the switch and watch them run**

Rose suddenly felt like the room was closing in on her, her heart was hammering in her ears, it seems like the darkness was trying to eat her whole. Suddenly chains sprang from the darkness and started to wrap around her arms and legs keeping her in place as the devil came to stand before her once again with the brothers next to him all of them smiling at her with that same wicked look in their eyes. As they got closer to her Rose struggled against the chains that were holding her in place but it was useless, she wasn’t able to get away from what was going to happen next. 

**Oh yeah**

**(Finders keepers losers weepers)**

**I’m taking back, back, taking back, back the crown**

**I’m all dressed up and naked**

**I see what’s mine and take it (Finders keepers losers weepers)**

**Oh yeah**

**The crown**

**(Finders keepers losers weepers)**

**(Finders keepers losers weepers)**

The brothers started tearing at her dress, ripping it to shreds, she screamed and struggled begging them to stop as memories flooded her mind. The more she tried to kick or push them away, the chains only got tighter around her wrists and ankles to the put where she couldn’t move them at all. They caresed her skin as it became visible, what was once her dress fell to the ground in a heap of tattered fabric and she was standing there in nothing but her bra and underwear.

“P-please stop.” She pleaded through her sobs as they raked their nails down her curves, licking their lips hungrily. Cuphead lifted her chin so she was looking at him and he crashed his lips on hers, forcing her mouth open as his tongue invaded her mouth while Mugman pushed her underwear to the side and roughly shoved his fingers inside of her causing her to scream as Cuphead was forcingly kissing her. Tears continued to flow down her cheeks as they assaulted her, what had happened to them, what had happened to her little brothers. In the darkness she could see glowing eyes, one yellow pair and one pair that was emerald green. As the shadows seemed to back away from the two men she felt her heart shattered when she saw Dice and the Devil standing there, laughing as the cup brothers molested her.

  
  


“That’s enough boys, back to work.” Dice said as he waved them off and like that they were gone, like they were never there to begin with and Dice took their place in front of her. Rose had her head hung, sobs quietly slipping through her lips, there was no way any of this was real; it had to be a nightmare it just had to be. For the first time in a long time she just wanted to wake up back in the safty of the woods, she was stupid for coming here to retrive what was never hers, Dice never loved her he didn’t even remember her it was all a lie.

“Now look they’ve gone and broken my doll.” Dice said as he lifted her chin and made her look at him, his eyes were still glowing that beautiful green color and her heart hoped that made he had remembered her that he was breaking from the Devil’s control. However that hope was dashed as soon as she felt the sting across her face, he had slapped her so hard it almost broke her jaw. Tears only flowed faster from her eyes as she looked at him, a bright red hand print across her cheek now. He had pulled his bow tie off and placed it in her mouth tying a knot behind her head, the sadness was now replaced with fear once again as he started to pull off his gloves and let them fall to the floor. He walked around her, like a lion stalking its prey, he had stopped behind her and snacked his hands around her and placed them on her hips.

“Isn’t this what ya wanted doll? To have my hands all over ya?” Dice whispered as he lightly bit her ear, Rose frantically shook her head as she felt him bring her hips against him, grinding his clothed member against her. Slowly he slipped her underwear off and lightly started rubbing her slit.

“Oh my, then why are ya so wet Rosie? If this isn’t want ya want, then why is ya body begging for me?” he whispered in her ear as he inserted a finger slowly pumping it in and out of her as his other hand traveled up and cupped her breast lightly pinching the nipple. Rose felt her body react to his touch against her will, this was the same man that had just accused her of killing him and slapped her in the face, yet it felt so good to have his hands on her, it was like her mind and body were disconnected. She fought to have control again and this only angered Dice as he forced another finger in her causing her to cry out in pain.

“The more you fight against me doll the more it’s going to hurt. Give in already, I’ve already seen your deepest desires and I know this is what you want, so why fight it?” He asked her as he pumped his fingers in and out of her picking up his speed but she wouldn’t give in, she was not going to give this monster what he wanted. When she didn’t react like how he wanted to he pulled his hands away and she heard the rustling of clothes.

“Very well if this is how ya want to play, guess I have no choice.” Dice said and then he angled himself at her slit and rammed himself inside of her. Rose screamed around the gag as he relentlessly pounded into her relentlessly, fresh tears once again started to roll down her face as he continued, never letting up even a little and all she could tell herself was that this wasn’t real even though she knew deep down that it wasn’t a dream. The man she claimed to have loved, who said he loved her in return, was raping her and there was nothing she could do to stop it. After a moment she just let her head hang as she cried, the pain becoming almost numb to her as she was ready to just slip away into a peaceful death. Once again she started to glow and the Devil appeared before her, she was spent and soon her soul would be his.

“Are you ready to hand your soul over to me Rose? Are you ready for it all to end my dear?” He asked her as he lifted her chin and made her look at him. Slow she nodded her head, not even realizing that she was no longer being violated, it didn’t matter any more, he had won and he was going to get what he wanted from her, she just hopped it would be quick and painless. The thought of death no longer scared her, maybe she was going to see her brother and her parents slow as the Devil reached out her soul almost willingly jumped right into his hands turning it into a playing card that seemed to be her wearing royal finery it seemed to be the queen of hearts but the hearts were broken along the border.

“Now all I have left to do is to figure out how to tap into that hidden power of yours. Until then best keep you under lock and key.” He said as a portal opened up under her and her body fell to the lower parts of the casino where Jack was being held slowly eating away at the chains that held him. Chuckling to himself the Devil walked out and headed out to the lobby of the casino where all of the workers were sitting there waiting.

“Any idea why the boss called us to a meeting?” Chips had whispered over to Mango who only shrugged his arms as did everyone else who was sitting at the table.

“Has anyone seen those twerps by the way? I haven’t seen them all morning.” Mr. Wheezy said as he looked around the room for the brothers.

“No, and now that you mention it, I haven’t seen Rose today either.” Pirouletta said as she too looked around the room for their cabernet singer who was also nowhere to be seen in the lobby. Everyone soon stopped taking once the Devil came to stand in the middle of the room, seeming more wistful than normal.

“What’s going on boss?” Hopus asked and the Devil pulled out the card showing it to everyone, there was an eerie silence in the room as they saw who was on the card. 

“It seems the time has come for me to inform you of my grand plan to rule this pathetic string of islands, and now that I have the missing part, all that’s left is to get rid of those blasted brothers and reclaim what belongs to me.” The Devil said and everyone one looked at each other in confusion.

“How are we going to do that boss? They already stopped us once, not like we can kill them on our own.” Phear Lap said as he crossed his arms and the Devil’s grin only grew wider.

“Precisely”

**“ I never thought you lackeys essential**

**you’re crude and unspeakably plain**

**But maybe you’ve a glimmer of potential**

**If allied to my vision and brain**

**I know that your powers of retention**

**Are as wet as a sinner’s backside**

**But thick as you are, pay attention**

**My words are a matter of pride**

**It's clear from your vacant expressions**

**The lights are not all on upstairs**

**But we're talking gods and successions**

**Even you can't be caught unawares”**

The Devil sang as he walked around the room looking at everyone, some seemed like they were thinking it over, where a few others seemed to be ready to join him at the snap of his fingers. He knew he’d be able to win them over though, after all he owned their souls as well, they really didn’t have a choice unless they wanted to end up like how Rose and the brothers would soon end up.

**“So prepare for a chance of a lifetime**

**Be prepared for sensational news**

**A shining new era**

**Is tiptoeing nearer”**

**“And where do we feature?”** Mr. Wheezy and Chips asked together when the Devil stood before them.

**“Just listen to teacher**

**I know it sounds sordid**

**But you'll be rewarded**

**When at last I am given my dues**

**And injustice deliciously squared**

**Be prepared!”**

While everyone was in the lobby, Cups and Mugs hand managed to sneak back in and move past them without being seen by anyone. As much as they wanted to take the Devil head on, they still didn’t have their powers, it would be suicided to even try. Quickly they made their way to the back door and opened it up for King Dice who still looked worse for wear but he was determined to get his girl back before anything else happened to her.

“We’ll head to the Bosses office and see if we can find her soul contract, what will you do Mr. Dice?” Mugman asked. Dice looked over at the elevator that lead to the lower parts of the casino, if he was keeping her anywhere that would be the best place to start.

“I’m going to try and find her, whatever happens though, if you boys are found or get caught. Run don’t try and find me, save yourselves.” Dice said as he made his way over to the call button.

“Like hell we’re going to leave you and Rose behind. You’re not the only one who loves her you know!” Cuphead said as he made a fist. “We might not have our powers but we can still kick some ass and get out before anyone gets hurt.” Dice felt himself smile at Cuphead’s words of confidence, as he looked over his shoulder he was impressed to find both of the brothers ready for anything.

“Very well, be careful.” He said as the doors closed in front of him and he started his decent down to the deeper levels of the casino. Cups and Mugs looked at one another and nodded as they sprinted down to the Devil’s office as the others were still in the lobby.

**“Of course, quid pro quo, you're expected**

**To take certain duties on board**

**The future is littered with prizes**

**And though I'm the main addressee**

**The point that I must emphasize is**

**You won't get a sniff without me!**

**So prepare for the coup of the century**

**Be prepared for the murkiest scam**

**Meticulous planning**

**Tenacity spanning**

**Decades of denial**

**Is simply why I'll**

**Be a God undisputed**

**Respected, saluted**

**And seen for the wonder I am**

**Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared**

**Be prepared!”**

The Devil grinned as everyone in the room was now swayed to his side as he made promises of power and riches that would be shared among them. No more would they be walked over and mocked from the people of Inkwell, now they would be feared and respected like they deserved and they would stop anyone who got in their way no matter what. 

**“Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared**

**Be prepared!”** Everyone sung as glasses clicked together, wicked laughter rang through the building.

  
  


“Come on cup can’t you get this door open any faster?” Mugs mocked his brother as he was on his knees trying to unlock the door.

“Oh shut it brother unless you want to be the one trying to break into the Devil’s office.” He mumbled as he heard a satisfying click and the door swung open. “Jackpot!” He said as he dashed in, his brother following close behind and shutting the door so not to draw anyone towards them. 

“Check the desk, if her soul contract is here it’ll be in there somewhere.” Mug man said as he turned on the wall switch that illuminated the room. Both the boys rushed over to the desk and started tearing open the drawers looking for her soul contract, they had managed to pull out every file but hers was not among them.

“It’s not here Mugs, maybe he destroyed it?” Cups asked but Mugs shook his head, in his head he was holding a book that had a gold imprint of a tree, and when he opened it the door to the Devil’s office started to open.

**~Back with Dice~**

Dice stepped off the Elevator into the darkened hallway, even though it was warmer down here he felt a shiver pass through him. Taking a deep breath he started walking down the hallway the sound of his shoes clicked against the tile floor, this far down there was only one room at the end of the hallway. It was a cell that he wasn’t really sure why it was there to begin with but he never thought to ask. Once he reached the door he pressed his ear up against it and heard shallow breathing, without a second thought he opened the door, not questioning it why it was left unlocked and saw Rose laying in the middle of the floor. She was laying there in hardly anything, her dress was torn to shreds, when he got closer to her he saw that there was blood between her legs and bruises lined her body. Dice quickly pulled his tail coat off and wrapped it around her body.

“Rose I’m so sorry this happened to you, this is all my fault.” Dice whispered as he when to carefully pick her up from the ground. He saw that her eyes were open but they seemed lifeless, fearing the worst he held her close to his chest and turned to walk away when he noticed something on the ground, it looked like Jack’s fedora and on the inside there was a note. Carefully he picked it up from the ground and walked out to the elevator, it was only then that he noticed there was a pungent smell of ink in the room and when he entered the halls streaks of black ink lined the walls that seemed to be mixed with blood. Quickly he walked down the hallway, his foot sliding out from under him as he slipped in a puddle of the black liquid knocking the air out of his as he landed on his back the note landing on his face and he finally read it.

__ _ "To anyone anyone who reads this, you're either brave or stupid. But I suppose when working their way for the devil you have to be both. You have to flee, run if you have to but only as a last resort and remember these words. Feed. Your. Sins.  _

__

_ That's right, feed your sins as if you were to feed your own bellies. Just make sure you don't choke on what you feasted, unless you wish to end up....." _ __

Dice said out loud and that’s when he heard it, the heavy footfalls of something coming towards him and Rose. He stood up and picked her body up as he back to the elevator and reached behind him to open the doors. A clawed hand reached around the doorway and grasped onto the wall and slowly Dice could see Jack’s head slowly peck around and he felt his stomach twist when he looked upon him. Jack himself was fairly tall but as this beast he could be no more than seven feet whilst hunched over, ink poured from the right side of his face, some seeping into his mouth to garble and gurgle his heavy breathing, and the lost souls that inhabit his body once more take their place as his "eyes" the King of deals returned as a beast of the machine.

“To end up...like...me?” Jack managed to whisper as he managed to regain some control as he looked to his friend and managed to whisper one final word before he was lost again to the beast. “Run.” an inhale of breath he streaked out, altering those that he knows of their presence and begins his chase. The doors opened and quickly Dice dashed in and closed them while the elevator took him up. The creature attacked the doors and then backed away as he seemed to disappear in a puddle that was on the ground. Dice could hear his heart thudding in his ears as he clung to Rose, all he had to do was get the brothers and then get the hell out of this place. As soon as the doors opened he took off running to the Devil’s office and burst through the door, scaring the brothers.

“We need to go. Now!” Dice said with a look of panic in his eyes. Without asking any questions the brothers nodded and grabbed the book and were getting ready to follow after him when someone appeared behind him.

“Oh so soon, but you just got here.” A booming voice said from behind Dice and he felt his heart nearly stop s he jumped away from The Devil himself as he stood in the doorway with a twisted grin on his face but his eyes seemed like they could kill him on the spot. “So good to see you again Dice, though I can’t imagine how you got out of that cell.” He said as he looked over to the brothers who looked nearly petrified, without their powers they were no more than children to him and Dice was in no shape for another round.

“I see you came back for your doll, such a pretty thing don’t you think Dice? Did you know she was a screamer, it was maybe the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.” The Devil laughed and Dice felt his cheeks burn with anger as he kept a tight grip on Rose. “When she was done she almost begged me to take her soul away from her, and such a pretty soul it was, shined just like gold.” He said as he pulled out the card that her soul was now trapped in. “The queen of broken hearts, all that’s missing is her king and two jokers.”

The Devil started walking towards them, but before he could get closer Jack had jumped on his back and started attacking him allowing for them to get away. Dice quickly handed Rose to the boys and told them to run ahead while he tried to get Rose’s soul card from the Devil, while he found to get Jack off his back Dice managed to take it away and started running out the door. When the Devil finally got a grip on Jack he threw him into the fires where soul contracts could be burned and watched as Jack screamed as the flames burned his body away into nothing. Glaring he quickly took off towards the door and watched as Dice and the brothers ran away from the casino.

None of them stopped until they all reached the woods, falling to the soft grass panting as they looked up at the blue sky outside of Elder Kettles house. 

“We...we did it.” Cups painted

“N-now we just have to figure out how to get our powers back.” Mags added as he sat up and saw Rose’s body laying on the ground. “And how to save Rose, the Devil stole her soul.” he added with a frown. Dice pulled himself up and looked at the card that was in his hand feeling his heart break, he was scared for what had happened to his girl, what nightmares did the Devil put her through for her to almost willing give up her soul.

“Well we best get started then." He said as he stood up from the ground and walked over to her body and picked her up the brothers got up as well to open the door for him. Ass they opened the door they were all shocked to see someone sitting in the chair of Elder Kettles.

“Hello boys, I’m glad to see you’ve returned.” Chalice said with a warm smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well Guys this is it, the last chapter for this book, I'm already planing on a second one to finish everything off. I won't lie this has been the most fun I've had in a very long time and it feels so nice to actually finish something and leave it for you all to read.
> 
> I'd like to thank everyone who took the time and made it this far, you all are the reason I wanted to finish this, and I hope to see you guys again in the second book of this series.
> 
> I do not own the following  
> Songs Be prepared from lion king  
> Emperor's new clothes by Panic! at the disco  
> Cuphead  
> Jack


End file.
